X  / 


" 


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COMMODORE      JOHN       BARRY 

From  the  painting  by  Gilbert  Stuart.     By  permission  of  Mrs.  W.  Horace  Hepburn,  of 
Philadelphia,   Grand-niece  of  Commodore   Barry 


COMMODORE  JOHN  BARRY 

THE  FATHER  OF  THE  AMERICAN  NAVY 


A    SURVEY    OF 

EXTRAORDINARY     EPISODES 
IN    HIS    NAVAL    CAREER 


BY 


WILLIAM  BARRY  MEANY,  M.D. 


HARPER  <5r»  BROTHERS  PUBLISHERS 

NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 

M  C  M  X  I 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY Frontispiece 

THE  FRIGATE  "ALLIANCE,"  UNDER  JOHN  BARRY'S 
COMMAND,  IN  BATTLE  WITH  THE  ENGLISH 

WARSHIP  "SYBILLE" Facing  p.  34 

WASHINGTON  PRESENTING  THE  COMMISSION  AS 
SENIOR  CAPTAIN  AND  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 
OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY  TO  JOHN  BARRY  50 

FACSIMILE  (REDUCED)  OF  BARRY'S  COMMISSION, 

NUMBER  ONE 54 

STATUE  OF  COMMODORE  JOHN  BARRY,  INDEPEN 
DENCE  SQUARE,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA.  ...  60 

COMMODORE  JOHN  BARRY'S  STATUE  IN  FRONT  OF 
HISTORIC  INDEPENDENCE  HALL,  PHILADEL 
PHIA,  PA 72 


M151316 


COMMODORE   JOHN    BARRY 

The  Father  of  the  American  Navy 


Beneath  his  guidance,  lo!   a  navy  springs, 
An  infant  navy  spreads  its  canvas  wings. 

ONE  of  the  finest  types  in  the  entire  his 
tory  of  the  American  navy  is  Commo 
dore  John  Barry,  the  first  Captain  placed  in 
command  of  the  first  war- vessel  commissioned 
to  fight  under  the  Continental  flag — the  Lex 
ington,  named  after  the  first  battle  on  land  in 
the  Revolution:  and  it  was  Barry  who  cap 
tured  in  battle  the  first  British  war -vessel, 
and  thus  achieved  the  honor  of  having  the 
first  British  flag  struck  to  him  in  naval  battle, 
in  the  struggle  for  independence  under  au 
thority  of  the  Continental  Congress. 

The  indomitable  courage,  devotion  to  duty, 
and  successful  achievements  which  character- 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

ized  the  entire  career  of  Commodore  Barry,  his 
splendid  naval  and  military  record  as  a  soldier, 
won  for  him  the  admiration  of  friends  and  foes 
—and  require  no  emphasis  or  embellishment 
by  eulogistic  remarks;  a  patriot  without  re 
proach,  one  who  loved  his  country,  so  that  in 
serving  it  he  wanted  no  recompense — a  grate 
ful  nation  should  mete  out  the  act  of  tardy 
justice,  so  long  delayed,  to  Commodore  John 
Barry,  in  a  way  of  befitting  honor  to  the 
memory  of  the  Father  of  the  American  navy, 
and  a  great  patriot  in  the  early  destinies  of 
our  country — so  that  his  memory  will  live 
until  the  end  of  time: 

His  glory  nothing  lacks, 
But  ours  lacks  him. 

SIGNS    NON-IMPORTATION    ACT 

Without  illumination  I  propose  for  the 
moment  to  direct  attention  to  the  early 
part  taken  by  John  Barry  in  the  cause  of 
liberty  and  independence.  We  find  among 
the  signers  of  the  Non-Importation  Resolves 
the  name  of  John  Barry,  a  ship-master  of 
Philadelphia,  actively  engaged  in  the  mercan 
tile  marine  mainly  to  and  from  South  Amer- 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

lean  and  West  Indian  ports  until  1774,  when 
he  made  voyages  in  the  Black  Prince,  the 
finest,  largest,  and  fastest  of  the  American 
commercial  fleet,  sailing  from  Philadelphia  to 
British  ports.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the 
early  movements  of  the  colonies  for  liberty 
and  independence. 

Affairs  of  the  colonies  were  becoming  more 
and  more  strained  with  England.  A  congress 
of  the  colonies  met  at  Philadelphia.  The 
Non-Importation  Resolves  (which  Barry  sub 
scribed  to  and  signed)  were  set  forth  in 
the  Articles  of  Association  entered  into  in 
1770  by  the  gentlemen  of  the  house  of  bur 
gesses  and  the  body  of  merchants  assembled 
in  Williamsburg,  Fairfax  County,  Colony  of 
Virginia,  in  opposition  to  taxes  imposed  by 
England  to  raise  revenue  upon  the  people  of 
the  colony.  They  contain  a  number  of 
clauses  (resolves) :  one,  against  the  purchas 
ing  of  English  goods,  etc. ;  another  to  stop  the 
further  importation  of  slaves  and  to  suppress 
those  slave-traders  who  were  engaged  in  that 
nefarious  traffic.  (See  reprints  on  file  in  the 
manuscript  rooms  of  the  Congressional  Li 
brary  at  Washington,  D.  C.) 

3 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

BARRY    OFFERS    SHIP   AND    SERVICE 

While  Barry  was  in  London  with  his  ship, 
the  Black  Prince,  much  history  was  being 
made — and  observing  the  trend  of  events, 
he,  in  September,  1775,  hastily  returned  to 
Philadelphia.  He  arrived  home  on  October 
13,  the  very  day  Congress  resolved  to  fit  out 
two  armed  cruisers,  one  of  fourteen  guns,  the 
other  of  ten  guns.  Barry  at  once  offered  his 
ship  and  services  to  Congress,  which  were 
accepted.  His  business  affairs  then  were  at 
the  height  of  their  prosperity,  but  his  sym 
pathies  were  so  strongly  and  fervently  with 
the  cause  of  the  colonies  that  he  sacrificed  his 
fortune  and  private  interests  and  at  once  en 
listed  in  the  Continental  navy. 

BARRY'S  RANK  THAT  OF  SENIOR 

From  that  day,  October  13,  1775,  to  the  end 
of  his  eventful  career  (by  death)  September  13, 
1 80 j,  John  Barry  was  the  senior  or  ranking 
officer  of  his  ship  and  squadrons,  and  at  no 
time  did  he  serve  under  the  orders  of  a  senior 
officer,  reporting  direct  to  Washington,  Con 
gress,  or  to  the  secret  and  marine  committees. 

4 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

LIVES    IN    HISTORY 

The  history  that  accompanies  the  data 
hereinafter  to  be  given  is  taken  from  the 
Continental  and  United  States  Congressional 
Records;  official  and  private  letters  of  Wash 
ington,  Robert  Morris,  Franklin,  Benjamin 
Rush,  McHenry,  Stoddert,  and  others ;  papers 
of  the  marine  and  secret  committees,  and, 
therefore,  is  not  subject  to  the  distrust  that 
accompanies  all  accounts  of  "  history  "  made  to 
order  or  taken  from  the  memoirs  or  personal 
diaries  of  the  actor  himself  or  its  direct  bene 
ficiaries.  Unofficial  records  are  entitled  to  re 
spect,  though  like  all  authority  of  this  nature, 
their  facts  should  be  received  with  caution. 

It  would  seem  meet,  then,  that  measures 
should  at  once  be  taken  by  the  proper  govern 
mental  authorities  for  the  accurate  compila 
tion  of  the  official  records  of  service  and 
characteristics — as  evidenced  in  such  records, 
manuscripts,  etc.,  as  are  in  reach  of  and  now 
in  the  possession  of  the  government — of  each 
distinguished  officer  of  the  early  navy  (known, 
perhaps,  to  the  older  officers  of  the  navy,  but 
unknown  to  the  public),  and  arranged  in  al- 

5 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

phabetical  order  and  in  chronological  sequence 
as  to  be  available  in  print  for  the  use  of  mid 
shipmen  at  Annapolis,  and  for  distribution, 
either  free  or  at  a  nominal  fixed  price,  for 
public  and  semi-public  libraries  for  the  correct 
information  of  a  generous  public — so  that  he 
who  runs  may  read  andhewho  reads  may  know. 

WASHINGTON'S  TRUST  IN  BARRY 

It  was  befittingly  left  to  our  immortal 
Washington  to  repose  special  trust  and  con 
fidence  in  Barry's  patriotism,  valor,  and 
abilities  by  rapid  promotion,  as  evidenced  by 
executive  appointments  and  high  commis 
sions  on  special,  hazardous,  and  most  impor 
tant  voyages — and  so  recorded  by  trust 
worthy  and  dispassionate  commentators,  such 
as  James  Fenimore  Cooper,  Dr.  Benjamin 
Rush,  Dennie,  Preble,  Abbot,  Frost,  Charles 
A.  Dana,  George  Ripley,  and  others  of  high 
literary  attainments  —  esteemed,  respected, 
and  supported  by  Washington,  who  attached 
Barry  as  his  aide-in-chief  at  the  very  com 
mencement  of  hostilities,  showing  clearly  that 
Barry  is  justly  entitled  to  the  designation  of 
father  of  the  American  navy. 

6 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

HEAD  OF  WASHINGTON'S  FLEET 

On  October  5,  1775,  Washington  directed 
a  letter  to  Congress,  with  an  urgent  request 
to  that  body  for  the  building,  or  purchasing 
and  equipping,  of  two  vessels,  one  of  fourteen 
guns,  the  other  of  ten  guns,  to  be  placed  at  his 
disposal  and  under  his  orders,  etc. 

On  October  13,  1775,  Congress,  taking  into 
consideration  the  report  of  the  committee— 
Deane,  Langdon,  and  Gadsden — appointed  to 
prepare  a  plan  for  intercepting  vessels  com 
ing  out  with  stores  and  ammunition,  after 
some  debate,  Resolved:  ''That  two  vessels 
carrying,  one  fourteen,  and  the  other  ten 
guns,  a  proportionable  number  of  swivels  and 
men  should  be  fitted  out." 

This  was  the  commencement  of  our  Amer 
ican  navy,  and  what  became  known  as 
Washington's  fleet.  .The  heavier  armed,  the 
Lexington,  14  guns,  was  given  to  the  com 
mand  of  Capt.  John  Barry.  He  was  ap 
pointed  captain  (the  highest  rank  attainable 
by  authority  of  the  Continental  Congress)  on 
December  7,  1775,  though  selected  some  time 
previous  to  that  date  by  Washington. 

7 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

The  proposal  of  fitting  out  a  fleet  to  com 
bat  the  greatest  and  most  powerful  sea  force 
of  the  world,  that  of  Great  Britain — said  to 
be  of  a  thousand  ships — did,  indeed,  seem  to 
be  to  the  most  resolute  defenders  aside  from 
Washington,  Morris,  Barry,  Rutledge,  and  a 
few  others,  a  foolhardy  undertaking,  and  when 
Rutledge,  of  South  Carolina,  moved  the  ap 
pointment  of  a  committee  to  prepare  a  plan 
and  estimate  of  a  fleet,  many  made  the  propo 
sition  a  subject  of  ridicule. 

BARRY    SAILS    ON    "  LEXINGTON" 

With  the  Lexington  Barry  put  to  sea,  and 
with  his  light  brig  was  enabled  to  pass 
through  a  narrow  channel  left  open  and  free 
from  heavy  ice,  the  main  channel  of  the  then 
heavily  ice-blocked  Delaware  River  at  that 
time  being  impassable ;  and  in  Treble's  Origin 
of  the  Flag  it  is  declared  that  his  (the  Lexing 
ton)  "was  the  first  vessel  that  bore  the 
Continental  flag  to  victory  on  the  ocean." 

The  incident  of  raising  the  first  "American 
flag"  on  the  Alfred  in  the  earlier  months  of 
1776  is  always  related  with  patriotic  glamor, 
as  though  the  stars  and  stripes,  our  national 

8 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

or  American  flag,  was  first  hoisted  by  the  then 
Lieut.  John  Paul  Jones,  as  so  often  has  been 
stated  in  public  print. 

In  the  Journals  of  the  Continental  Congress, 
Vol.  8,  the  following  resolution  was  adopted 
on  June  14,  1777:  Resolved,  "That  the  flag 
of  the  United  States  be  thirteen  stripes,  alter 
nate  red  and  white;  that  the  Union  be  a  blue 
field,  representing  a  new  constellation." 

The  first  mention  on  the  records  of  the 
nation  presents  the  name  of  John  Paul  Jones 
to  Congress  on  December  22,  1775,  as  first 
on  the  lists  of  lieutenants  of  the  new  navy 
reported  by  the  marine  committee  for  confirm 
ation.  He  was  appointed  as  a  lieutenant  to 
the  Alfred,  commanded  by  Captain  Salton- 
stall.  That  the  gallant  Paul  Jones  served 
our  country  well,  both  as  a  lieutenant  and 
afterward  as  a  captain  in  the  navy,  is  un 
disputed. 

THE  " LEXINGTON"  FIRST  REGULAR  CRUISER 

In  the  History  of  the  United  States  Navy, 
by  James  Fenimore  Cooper  (himself  a  mid 
shipman  in  the  navy,  attaining  the  rank  of  a 
lieutenant,,  and  acquiring  an  experience  which 

9 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

he  found  most  useful  in  his  literary  career), 
published  in  1839,  the  following  appears  in 
Vol.  i :  "  For  the  first  regular  cruise  that  ever 
got  to  sea  under  the  new  government  we  must 
refer  to  the  Lexington,  14  guns,  a  little  brig, 
the  command  of  which  was  given  to  Capt. 
John  Barry,  a  ship-master  of  Philadelphia  of 
credit  and  skill.  The  honor  has  long  been 
claimed  for  Captain  Barry,  and,  on  as  close 
examination  of  the  facts  as  our  means  will 
allow,  we  believe  it  is  his  due.  The  Lexington 
must  have  left  the  Capes  of  the  Delaware  late 
in  January  or  early  in  February,  and  her  orders 
were  to  sail  southward." 

CAPTURES    FIRST    WAR-SHIP    IN    BATTLE 

"As  an  offset,"  writes  Cooper,  "to  the 
escape  of  the  British  ship  Glasgow,  20  guns, 
after  engaging  'Commodore'  Esek  Hopkins's 
squadron,  consisting  of  the  Alfred,  24  guns; 
Columbus,  20  guns;  Andrea  Doria,  14  guns; 
Cabot,  14  guns  and  \h&  Providence,  12  guns,  off 
the  east  end  of  Long  Island,  on  the  morning 
of  April  6,  1776,  the  Lexington,  Captain  Barry, 
a  small  brig  of  14  guns,  fell  in  with  the 
Edward,  an  armed  tender  of  the  Liverpool, 

10 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

on  April  7,  1776,  off  the  Capes  of  Virginia, 
and,  after  a  close  and  spirited  action  of  nearly 
an  hour,  captured  her.  The  Lexington  had 
four  of  her  crew  killed  and  wounded,  while  the 
Edward  was  cut  nearly  to  pieces  and  met  with 
a  very  heavy  loss  of  men." 

Barry  succeeded  in  entering  Delaware  Bay 
with  his  prize,  though  strongly  blockaded  by 
British  war-ships,  and  arrived  at  Phila 
delphia  on  April  n,  1776,  bringing  the  news 
direct  to  Congress  of  the  first  capture  of  an 
armed  vessel  taken  in  battle,  and  thus  the 
honor  of  having  the  first  British  flag  struck 
to  him  by  a  British  war- vessel  in  battle  under 
Continental  authority,  and  rejoicing  the  hearts 
of  the  patriots  so  much  that  even  John  Adams 
gleefully  wrote:  "We  begin  to  make  some 
figure  in  the  navy  way. ' '  Richard  Henry  Lee, 
in  a  letter  describing  the  event,  narrated  that 
the  enemy  did  not  submit  until  he  was  near 
sinking. 

Frost,  in  his  Commodores  of  the  Navy,  writes : 
"  In  February,  1776,  he  (Barry)  was  appointed 
to  the  command  of  the  brig  Lexington,  14 
guns.  She  was  the  first  Continental  vessel  of 
war  that  sailed  from  the  port  of  Philadelphia." 

ii 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

In  the  American  Cyclopedia,  which  was  pro 
jected  in  1857  by  Charles  A.  Dana,  formerly 
Assistant  Secretary  of  War  (1863-1864),  man 
aging  editor  of  the  New  York  Tribune  (1849- 
1862),  late  editor-in-chief  and  former  owner 
of  the  New  York  Sun  (George  Ripley,  formerly 
literary  editor  of  the  New  York  Tribune  and 
associate  editor  with  Dana  in  the  American 
Cyclopedia),  appears  the  following:  "At  the 
commencement  of  the  Revolution  Barry  of 
fered  his  services  to  Congress,  and  in  Febru 
ary,  1776,  was  appointed  to  command  the 
Lexington,  14  guns,  and  after  a  sharp  action 
took  the  tender  Edward,  the  first  war- vessel 
captured  by  a  commissioned  officer  of  the 
navy. ' ' 

Josiah  Bartlett,  a  signer  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  writing  to  John  Langdon, 
said:  " Captain  Barry  in  the  Lexington  has 
taken  and  sent  in  here  a  privateer  of  6  guns, 
commanded  by  another  of  those  famous 
Goodriches,  of  Virginia."  Caesar  Rodney, 
another  signer,  wrote  on  August  3,  1776: 
"Yesterday  came  to  town  an  armed  vessel 
taken  by  Captain  Barry  at  sea." 

Henry  Fisher,  in  his  report  to  the  committee 

12 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

of  safety  of  Pennsylvania,  wrote:  "  Last  even 
ing  the  Kingfisher,  a  British  man-of-war,  re 
turned  into  our  road  with  a  prize  brigantine, 
Captain  Walker,  of  Wilmington,  but,  luckily 
for  us,  our  brave  Captain  Barry  had  been 
aboard  of  her  and  taken  out  the  powder  and 
arms/'  It  may  be  well  here  to  state  that  the 
records  of  the  secret  and  safety  committees  at 
that  time  show  that  the  patriots  were  sadly 
in  need  of  powder  and  arms. 

Three  more  vessels  were  captured  by  Barry 
with  the  Lexington,  and  then  upon  his  return 
to  Philadelphia  he  took  charge  as  superin 
tendent  of  the  construction  of  war-ships  then 
building  on  the  Delaware  River. 

CHEERS    HEARTS    OF    PATRIOTS 

These  captures  and  achievements  of  our 
infant  navy  thrilled  the  patriots  to  new  en 
deavor,  for  those  first  months  of  the  war  were, 
as  Thomas  Paine  wrote  of  them — "the  times 
that  tried  men's  souls." 

"Capt.  John  Barry,  whose  spirited  action 
off  the  Capes  of  Virginia,  in  the  Lexington,  1 4 
guns,  has  been  mentioned,"  writes  Cooper, 
2  13 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

"and  whose  capture,  April  7,  1776,  of  the 
Edward  on  that  occasion  is  worthy  of  note 
as  having  been  the  first  of  any  vessel  of  war 
that  was  ever  made  by  a  regular  American 
cruiser  in  battle." 

Barry's  report  of  this  victory  embraced  a 
few  lines,  giving  the  bare  details,  and  con 
cluding:  "I  have  the  happiness  to  acquaint 
you  that  all  our  people  behaved  with  much 
courage."  Barry  was  innately  modest  in  re 
gard  to  his  public  (naval)  and  private  achieve 
ments.  He  kept  a  strict  account  in  detail  of 
what  he  thought  were  his  mistakes — but  not 
of  his  successes. 

ACTIVE    SPIRIT    OF    MARINE    COMMITTEE 

Barry  was  the  active  spirit  of  the  marine 
committee,  and  during  the  next  few  months 
remained  in  and  about  the  Delaware  capes 
under  orders  "to  take,  sink,  and  destroy  the 
enemy's  vessels." 

Under  the  direction  of  Washington  and 
Robert  Morris — the  latter  a  signer  and  the 
financier  of  the  Revolution — Barry  was  placed 
in  command  (commander-in-chief)  of  the  port 

14 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

of  Philadelphia,  then  the  largest  mercantile 
and  shipping  port  of  the  country. 

ATTACKS  ENGLAND'S  NAVY 

Here  we  take  leave  of  the  Lexington,  the 
first  war-vessel  commissioned  and  given  to 
the  command  of  Capt.  John  Barry,  who,  in  the 
dead  of  night,  brought  his  little  brig  past  the 
guns  of  two  large  British  war-ships,  then 
guarding  the  mouth  of  the  Delaware,  going 
out  single-handed  "to  take,  sink,  and  destroy 
the  enemy's  ships,"  such  as  merchantmen  and 
armed  privateers,  and  harass  and  to  attack 
the  ships  of  England's  powerful  sea  force 
(a  British  fleet  composed  of  70  armed  vessels 
then  guarding  the  coast,  among  which  were 
the  Roebuck,  44  guns,  and  the  I  sis,  32  guns, 
then  guarding  the  mouth  of  the  Delaware 
River;  with  the  Pearl,  32  guns,  the  Liverpool, 
28  guns,  and  the  Augusta  and  Merlin  guarding 
the  capes  of  Delaware),  and,  once  clear  of  the 
shore,  he  unfurled  for  the  first  time  under 
Continental  authority  that  flag  "  which  has 
ever  since  floated  in  triumph  over  every  wave, 
and  never  while  God  is  Just  will  it  disappear 
from  the  sea  that  it  ruled." 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

BARRY    GIVEN    COMMAND   OF    "  EFFINGHAM " 

Barry's  exploits  were  rewarded  by  his 
appointment  to  command  the  Effingham,  a 
frigate  of  28  guns,  then  being  built  under 
his  supervision  at  Philadelphia.  Before  her 
completion  she  was  taken  up  the  Delaware 
River  to  escape  the  British  army  which  then 
invested  Philadelphia,  and  was  afterward 
destroyed  by  order  of  Congress  "to  pre 
vent  it  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  British 
forces,"  though  Barry,  with  violent  empha 
sis,  opposed  her  destruction,  and  left  no 
doubt  in  the  minds  of  the  committee  of  his 
serious  earnestness — and  again  time  proved 
the  correctness  of  Barry's  judgment. 

IN    ROW-BOATS    CAPTURES    ARMED    SHIPS 

Tiring  of  what  he  termed  inactivity  in 
awaiting  to  take  command  of  the  incomplet- 
ed  Effingham,  Barry  manned  four  small  row- 
boats,  having  spied  a  large  schooner  mounting 
10  guns  and  flying  the  British  flag,  with  four 
armed  transports, loaded  with  provisions  and 
forage  for  the  enemy's  forces,  lying  below  Phil 
adelphia,  then  invested  by  the  British  army; 

16 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

he  rowed  down  the  river,  with  muffled  oar-locks, 
passing  the  guarded  river-front  of  the  city  dur 
ing  the  night  and,  at  early  daylight,  succeeded 
in  rowing  his  boats  alongside  of  the  armed 
schooner,  and  before  the  English  suspected  the 
presence  of  any  enemy,  Barry,  at  the  head  of 
his  men,  was  clambering  over  the  rail  of  the 
schooner,  cutlass  and  pistol  in  hand.  The 
astonished  Englishmen  threw  down  their  arms 
and  rushed  below.  The  victorious  Americans 
battened  down  the  hatches.  Barry  ordered  the 
soldiers  and  sailors  on  the  four  transports  to 
surrender  on  penalty  of  being  fired  into,  and 
triumphantly,  and  in  sight  of  a  heavily  armed 
British  war-ship  lying  below,  carried  all  five 
prizes  to  the  piers  at  Fort  Penn,  and  put  the 
four  transports  in  charge  of  Captain  Middleton, 
who  had  command  of  the  fort.  Then  the 
hatches  were  removed,  and  the  American 
sailors  being  drawn  up.  in  line,  Barry  ordered 
the  prisoners  to  come  on  deck. 

It  was  found  that  Barry  with  his  twenty- 
seven  (27)  American  sailors  had  captured  one 
major,  two  captains,  three  lieutenants,  and  one 
hundred  and  thirty  armed  soldiers,  sailors,  and 
marines. 

17 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

That  was  the  most  brilliant  feat  of  arms 
upon  the  seas,  and  it  was  the  most  far-reaching 
in  its  results.  From  that  moment  the  British 
in  Philadelphia  became  insecure.  They  felt 
their  supplies  in  danger.  Indeed,  it  hastened 
the  withdrawal  of  the  British  forces  from 
Philadelphia. 

Frost,  in  his  Naval  Biography,  said  of  this 
achievement:  "For  boldness  of  design  and 
dexterity  of  execution  it  was  not  surpassed 
during  the  war." 

SENDS    SUPPLIES   TO    WASHINGTON 

Part  of  the  stores  were  forwarded  to 
General  Washington,  and  the  prisoners  were 
turned  over  to  the  proper  authorities.  The 
heavily  armed  British  war-ship  which  was 
lying  below  in  the  river  having  hove  in  sight, 
Barry  took  the  captured  schooner  into  shallow 
water,  hoping  to  save  the  schooner  from  being 
recaptured,  but  in  this  he  was  unsuccessful. 
Barry  succeeded  in  landing  his  prisoners  with 
war  supplies,  and  then,  firing  a  shotted  cannon 
down  the  hatchways  of  the  captured  schoon 
er,  destroyed  her  before  the  British  war-ship 
came  up. 

18 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

WASHINGTON    THANKS    BARRY 

Washington  wrote  Barry  the  following 
letter:  "I  congratulate  you  on  the  success 
which  has  crowned  your  gallantry  and  address 
in  the  late  attack  upon  the  enemy's  ships. 
Although  the  circumstances  have  prevented 
you  from  reaping  the  full  benefit  of  your  con 
quests,  yet  there  is  ample  consolation  in  the 
degree  of  glory  which  you  have  acquired. 
You  will  be  pleased  to  accept  my  thanks  for 
the  good  things  which  you  were  so  polite  as 
to  send  to  me,  with  my  wishes  that  a  suitable 
recompense  may  always  attend  your  bravery." 

Washington  took  occasion  to  publicly  thank 
Barry  and  his  sailors  for  this  extraordinary 
achievement,  etc. 

Of  this,  and  similar  character  of  service, 
Franklin  wrote:  "  Nothing  will  give  us  greater 
weight  and  importance  in  the  eyes  of  the 
commercial  world  than  a  conviction  that  we 
can  annoy  on  occasion  their  trade  and  carry 
our  prizes  into  safe  harbors." 

TRANSPORTS    WASHINGTON    ACROSS    DELAWARE 

Terror  reigned  in  Philadelphia.  Even  the 
great  Washington  sounded  the  note  of  de- 

19 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

spair.  "In  ten  days,"  he  wrote,  "this  army 
will  cease  to  exist.  We  are  at  the  end  of  our 
tether."  From  New  York  across  New  Jersey 
he  was  being  pursued  by  Cornwallis.  Barry 
quickly  organized  a  company  of  volunteers 
and  went  to  Washington's  aid.  On  that 
gloomy  Christmas  eve  he  rendered  valiant  aid 
in  transporting  Washington  and  his  army 
across  the  ice-blocked  Delaware,  and  served 
with  honors  and  distinction  in  the  victor 
ies  of  Trenton,  Princeton,  and  elsewhere, 
that  again  gave  heart  to  the  despairing  pa 
triots  and  drove  the  English  back  to  New 
York. 

BARRY    AGAIN    FIGHTS    ON    LAND 

Here  we  find  Barry  again  fighting  in  the 
field  under  Washington.  The  following  is  a 
copy  of  Washington's  letter  to  Barry: 

HEADQUARTERS,  i$th  April,  1778. 
To  Captain  John  Barry: 

SIR, — In  a  letter  received  from  you  some  days  past 
were  enclosed  the  paroles  of  some  officers;  those  I 
have  delivered  to  the  Commissary-General  of  Pris 
oners.  Yesterday  I  received  the  articles  agree- 

20 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

able  to  the  bill  sent  me  by  Major  Burnet  and  by 
him  or  when  he  sends  down  you  shall  receive  the 
amount. 

The  men  at  present  under  your  command  belonging 
to  General  Varnum's  Brigade  I  cannot  think  of  suf 
fering  to  remain  with  you,  so  long  as  you  perhaps 
may  wish,  and  have  to  desire  that  you  will  send 
them  by  a  careful  officer  to  camp  by  the  first  day 
of  next  month.  Their  time  of  stay  will  be  so 
short  that  I  cannot  think  it  necessary  or  right 
that  they  should  receive  their  clothes  until  they 
join  their  corps. 

(Signed)         G.  WASHINGTON. 


WASHINGTON'S  CONFIDENCE  IN  BARRY 

In  reply  to  Cornwallis's  request  for  con 
veyance  of  relief  to  the  wounded,  Washington 
gave  a  signal  mark  of  his  confidence  in  his 
selection  of  Barry  as  his  representative  to 
secure  the  safe  conduct  of  the  wounded,  the 
surgeons,  medicines,  and  baggage;  and  when 
that  work  was  completed  Barry  resumed  his 
position  as  commander- in-chief  of  the  port  of 
Philadelphia,  defending  it  from  British  in 
vasion  by  sea,  and  harassing  the  enemy  and 
capturing  their  vessels  of  war  and  merchant 
men. 

21 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF    OF    PORT 

It  is  pertinent  here  to  call  attention  to  a 
letter  addressed  to  "  The  Commander-in-chief 
John  Barry  of  the  port  of  Philadelphia," 
signed  by  twelve  navy  lieutenants  seeking 
redress  for  " certain  grievances,"  which  Barry 
transmitted  to  Congress.  (See  Continental 
Congressional  Record,  session,  July,  1777.) 

IN    COMMAND    OF    BRIG    "DELAWARE" 

Next  we  find  Barry  commanding  a  "  letter 
of  marque,"  clearing  and  capturing  the 
enemy's  ships  then  investing  the  Delaware 
Bay  and  River,  and  here  he  again  gives  re 
markable  exhibition  of  his  fighting  qualities. 
As  you  are  aware,  there  were  two  elements 
controlling  the  naval  forces  of  the  Revolu 
tionary  powers  at  that  time.  There  were  the 
State  naval  forces  and  the  Continental  forces. 
Barry  was  now  in  command  of  the  brig 
Delaware  under  the  State  naval  forces,  and 
made  several  important  captures;  he  on  one 
cruise  brought  into  Philadelphia  three  cap 
tured  vessels. 

22 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

COMMAND   OF   THE    "ALLIANCE" 

Upon  his  (Barry's)  return  to  Philadelphia 
he  was  designated  to  command  a  new  ship  of 
74  guns,  but  that  ship  was  sent  to  France, 
Congress  having  concluded  to  present  her  to 
the  French  King,  and  Barry  was  assigned  to 
the  Alliance,  the  finest  and  fastest  ship  in  the 
Continental  navy. 

CONVEYS    COMMISSIONERS    TO    FRANCE 

To  secure  further  aid  from  France  the 
Alliance  was  ordered  to  convey  our  special 
commissioner,  Col.  John  Laurens,  to  France. 
His  father,  who  had  also  been  an  envoy,  had 
been  captured  and  was  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower 
of  London,  and  great  precautions  were  needed 
for  the  safety  of  our  representatives  on  most 
important  missions. 

Accompanying  Laurens  as  passengers  upon 
the  Alliance,  and  entrusted  to  Barry's  care, 
were  Thomas  Paine  and  the  Count  de  Noailles. 
Barry  safely  landed  his  passengers  in  France, 
and  Laurens  succeeded  in  securing  from  the 
French  King  six  million  livres  (gold),  and  it 
was  this  "hard"  money  that  enabled  Wash- 

23 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

ington  to  pay  his  army,  and  absolutely  neces 
sary  to  the  prosecution  of  the  war — the  Con 
tinental  forces  had  reached  the  end  of  their 
resources.  It  was  this  gold  that  enabled 
Washington  to  pay  his  army  and  transport 
it  to  Yorktown.  Not  only  were  the  soldiers 
without  money,  but  they  were  absolutely 
destitute  of  supplies,  without  medicine  for 
the  fever-stricken  soldiers,  and  without  cloth 
ing  or  shoes.  In  addition  to  paying  the  wages 
of  the  soldiers  in  specie  (the  paper  money  of 
the  government  being  at  that  time  without 
value  as  a  purchasing  medium),  this  money 
bought  them  food,  clothing,  and  munitions 
of  war,  and  enabled  Washington  to  compel 
the  surrender  at  Yorktown. 

TAKES  LA  FAYETTE  TO  FRANCE 

On  October  19,  1781,  part  of  the  British 
forces  had  surrendered  in  Virginia,  and  instead 
of  being  sent  to  destroy  vessels  of  the  enemy, 
Barry  was  again  entrusted  with  the  safe  de 
livery  of  another  envoy  to  France,  her  own 
distinguished  son,  the  Marquis  de  la  Fayette. 
The  importance  of  La  Fayette's  mission  to 
France  was  deemed  by  Washington  to  be 

24 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

greater  than  any  service  that  could  be  ren 
dered  upon  the  field  in  America. 

WASHINGTON    AGAIN    WRITES    BARRY 

Washington,  in  his  letter  to  Barry  dated 
from  Mount  Vernon  on  November  15,  1781, 
wrote:  "  Respecting  the  operations  of  the 
next  campaign,  I  do  declare  in  one  word 
that  the  advantages  of  it  to  America,  and 
the  honor  and  glory  of  it  to  the  allied  armies 
in  these  States,  must  depend  absolutely 
upon  the  naval  force  which  is  employed 
in  these  seas  at  a  time  of  its  appearance 
next  year.  No  land  force  can  act  decisively 
unless  it  is  accompanied  by  a  marine  superi 
ority,  nor  can  more  than  negative  advantages 
be  expected  without  it.  It  follows,  then,  as 
certainly  as  that  night  succeeds  day,  that  with 
out  a  decisive  naval  force  we  can  do  nothing 
definite,  and  with  it,  everything  honorable 
and  glorious.  A  constant  naval  superiority 
would  terminate  the  war  speedily.  Without  it 
I  do  not  know  that  it  will  ever  be  terminated 
honorably." 

Robert  Morris,  chief  of  Department  of 
Finance,  in  a  letter  of  instructions  to  Barry, 

25 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

said:  "I  know  your  sense  of  duty  and  pa 
triotism  will  lead  you  into  all  proper  measures 
and  exertions  for  the  safety  of  your  ship,  for 
the  success  of  her  voyage  and  crew,  and  for 
the  promotion  of  your  country's  interests." 

With  La  Fayette  safely  landed  back  in 
France,  Barry  set  sail  for  a  homeward  cruise. 
Robert  Morris  l  wrote  to  Barry:  "  I  do  not  fix 
your  cruising  ground  because  I  expect  you 
will  know  the  most  likely  cruise  and  will  be 
anxious  to  meet  such  events  as  will  do  honor 
to  the  American  flag  and  promote  the  general 
interests." 

CAPTURES   TWO    WAR-SHIPS    IN    SINGLE    BATTLE 

In  a  homeward  cruise  of  the  Alliance  Barry 
fought  and  captured  both  the  Atalanta,  16 
guns,  Captain  Edwards,  with  130  men,  and  the 
Trepassy,  14  guns,  Captain  Smith,  with  80 
men,  engaging  both  vessels  in  a  single  battle. 
For  more  than  an  hour  the  Alliance,  owing 
to  unfavorable  winds,  fought  under  great 
disadvantage.  Captain  Barry  was  severely 

1  Morris  was  the  leading  shipping  merchant  of  Philadelphia, 
and  thoroughly  informed  about  all  the  foreign  sailing  routes, 
as  he  was  the  owner  of  the  largest  number  of  ships  sailing 
from  that  port  to  all  parts  of  the  world. — W.  B.  M. 

26 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

wounded  by  a  grape-shot  through  the  shoulder. 
After  a  stubborn  and  manly  resistance  both 
the  English  vessels  in  the  end  were  compelled 
to  haul  down  their  colors. 

The  Alliance  was  much  damaged  in  this 
combat,  and  in  all  the  sea  "was  anything  less 
fit  to  float  than  Barry's  vessel,  except  the 
enemy's  ships,  which  he  had  reduced  to  a 
worse  condition."  Never,  never  was  a  more 
brilliant  action  fought  "  and  never  were  ships 
in  a  worse  condition  after  a  fight." 

Barry  in  the  Alliance  fought  and  captured 
in  one  engagement  both  the  Mars,  a  heavy- 
armed  vessel  of  26  guns  and  142  men,  and  the 
Minerva,  10  guns  and  56  men. 

Barry  in  the  Alliance  captured  the  British 
war-ship  Alert  (said  to  be  a  sister  ship  named 
after  an  armed  vessel  he  captured  at  an  earlier 
date  in  the  Delaware  River),  with  supplies, 
which  he  turned  over  to  Washington  for  the 
American  army. 

BARRY  CAPTURES  NINE  PRIZES  ON  ONE  CRUISE 

Barry  made  another  cruise  in  the  Alliance 
to  France  on  an  important  mission,  bringing 
into  L'Orient  four  of  the  nine  English  vessels 

27 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

loaded  with  valuable  cargoes,  sending  the 
other  five  prizes  under  prize-master's  orders 
back  to  America. 

BARRY'S  LETTERS  TO  LA  FAYETTE 

The  following  are  copies  of  some  of  the 
letters  written  by  Barry  to  the  Marquis  de  la 
Fayette  and  to  our  own  Benjamin  Franklin, 
commissioner  and  plenipotentiary  to  the 
French  court,  while  Barry  was  with  his  ship, 
the  Alliance,  in  port  at  L'Orient,  France. 

L'ORIENT,  28  Oct.,  1782. 

SIR, — Permit  me  to  acquaint  your  Lordship  of  my 
arrival  in  France,  after  a  successful  cruise.  Wherein 
I  took  nine  prizes,  four  of  which  I  brought  in  here, 
the  other  five  I  sent  back  to  America — a  few  days 
before  I  sailed  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  his  Excel 
lency,  General  Washington,  who  inquired  very  par 
ticular  about  your  health.  I  am  sorry  to  give  you 
trouble,  but  it  would  lay  me  under  particular  obliga 
tions  if  you  have  anything  new  at  court,  or  any  ex 
pectations  of  peace  soon,  you  would  let  me  know  it, 
as  I  sail  in  ten  days  on  a  cruise  and  perhaps  may  soon 
go  to  America.  Be  pleased  to  make  my  best  respects 
to  Count  de  Noailles. 

(Signed)         JOHN  BARRY. 
To  Marquis  de  la  Fayette ; 
Paris. 

28 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 


L'ORIENT,  ji  Oct., 
SIR,  —  I  had  the  honor  to  write  you  a  few  days 
past.  Wherein  was  a  request  that  I  fear  will  be  too 
much  trouble  to  you,  however,  as  it  is  of  material 
consequence  to  me  to  know  if  it  is  likely  we  shall  have 
peace  or  not.  I,  therefore,  flatter  myself  from  a 
former  desire  to  serve  me,  you  will  indulge  me  at  this 
time,  and,  believe  me,  I  shall  ever  hold  it  of  the 
greatest  favors  conferred  on, 

(Signed)        JOHN  BARRY. 
His  Excellency, 

Marquis  de  la  Fayette, 
Paris. 

L'ORIENT,  Nov.  17,  1782. 

SIR,  —  When  I  had  the  pleasure  to  receive  your 
obliging  letters  I  was  very  much  indisposed  with  a 
fever  which  has  confined  me  to  my  chambers  this  ten 
days.  I  am  now,  sir,  just  able  to  write  a  few  lines 
to  thank  you  for  the  information  you  was  pleased  to 
give.  As  for  my  going  to  Paris  this  time,  it  is  out  of 
my  power,  as  the  ship  is  ready  to  sail,  only  awaiting 
for  my  recovery,  which  I  hope  in  a  few  days  to  be 
able  to  go  on  board.  You  say  you  are  going  to 
America.  I  envy  the  captain  who  is  to  take  you. 
I  wish  I  was  in  his  place,  but,  although  I  am  deprived 
of  that  happiness  at  present,  I  hope  to  have  the 
pleasure  to  command  the  ship  that  conveys  you  to 
your  native  country,  and  then,  sir,  I  will  certainly 
pay  a  visit  to  Paris  —  and  I  hope  to  have  the  honor 
of  seeing  Lady  La  Fayette,  whom  I  have  not  the 
3  29 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

pleasure  to  have  ever  seen.  It  was  my  brother  that 
had  that  honor  in  Bordeaux,  who  is  since  lost  at  sea. 
Be  pleased  to  give  my  best  respects  to  Lady  La 
Fayette  and  Count  de  Noailles,  and  believe  me  to  be, 

To  Marquis  de  la  Fayette.      (Signed)         *  BARRY' 

BARRY'S  LETTER  TO  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

L'ORIENT,  ji  Oct.,  1782. 

SIR, — Having  nothing  to  communicate  to  your 
Excellency  of  any  consequence  but  my  arrival  here, 
and  that  Mr.  Barclay1  promised  me  he  would  announce. 
I,  therefore,  thought  it  would  only  be  troubling  your 
Excellency  to  write,  as  I  was  at  that  time  in  expecta 
tions  of  being  at  sea  before  an  answer  could  come 
from  Paris.  Some  necessaries  being  wanting  to  the 
ship  has  detained  her  longer  than  I  expected. 

Lieutenant  Barney,  of  the  Continental  ship  General 
Washington,  being  just  arrived  and  who  informs  me 
he  is  immediately  under  your  Excellency's  particular 
orders — as  she  was  built  for  the  purpose  of  a  cruiser,2 
and  of  course  will  be  of  little  or  no  service  on  that 
head.  I  think  you  would  render  great  service  to  the 
United  States  to  order  her  out  with  the  Alliance,  who 
will  sail  in  about  ten  days.  I  have  the  honor  to  be  sir, 

(Signed)         JOHN  BARRY. 
His  Excellency, 

Benj.  Franklin,  Esq., 
Paris. 

1  United  States  Consul-General.— W.  B.  M. 

2  Not  as  a  cargo  carrier. — W.  B.  M. 

30 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

FOUR    PRIZE    CAPTURES    BRING    $2,5OO,OOO 

Regarding  the  four  prize  vessels  which  Barry 
brought  into  the  port  of  L' Orient  and  already 
mentioned  in  Barry's  letter  to  La  Fayette  of 
October  28,  1782 — it  may  be  interesting  to 
here  mention  that  the  sales  of  these  four  prize 
vessels  with  their  cargoes,  captured  by  Com 
modore  Barry  in  the  Alliance,  and  sold  at 
public  auction  at  a  somewhat  later  period  in 
the  presence  of  the  Judges  of  the  Admiralty 
and  King's  Attorney  in  virtue  of  the  condem 
nation  of  his  Excellency,  Benjamin  Frank 
lin,  Esq.,  Plenipotentiary  of  the  United 
States  at  Paris — amounted  to  the  sum  of 
$2,500,000  (gold). 

Here  we  have  an  evidence  of  Barry's  innate 
modesty,  a  characteristic  which  followed  him 
throughout  his  entire  career — so  becoming  a 
naval  officer  and  a  gentleman — who,  after 
capturing  nine  prizes  on  this  voyage,  bringing 
four  of  the  prizes  into  L' Orient,  wrote  to 
Franklin  (see  letter  dated  L'Orient,  October 
31,  1782,  and  heretofore  made  mention)  at 
Paris,  "  Having  nothing  of  importance  to 
communicate  of  any  consequence  but  my 

31 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

arrival  here  (L'Orient),  and  that  Mr.  Barclay 
promised  me  he  would  announce. ' '  Evidently 
Barry  was  not  afflicted  with  cacoethes  scri- 
bendi,  or,  as  Juvenal  expresses  it,  insanabile 
scribendi  cacoethes — an  insane  desire  for  scrib 
bling. 

CAPTURES    WAR-SHIP    AND    HER    PRIZE 

Barry,  with  the  Alliance,  on  a  cruise  in 
foreign  waters,  captured  an  English  war- 
vessel  which  had  taken  a  Venetian  ship  as  a 
prize,  though  Venice  was  at  that  time  at  peace 
with  England ;  she  was  a  valuable  ship  with  a 
valuable  cargo.  Barry,  with  a  prospect  of 
prize  money,  could  have  claimed  her  as  a 
prize  to  be  disposed  of  in  port  and  the  results 
distributed  among  his  crew.  Barry,  without 
hesitation,  and  acting  entirely  from  the  dic 
tates  of  his  own  humanity  and  justice — ever 
zealous  of  the  integrity  and  good  name  of  his 
country  above  all  considerations — denounced 
the  English  captain  who  had  seized  her  as 
a  pirate,  set  her  free,  and  told  the  captain  of 
the  Venetian  ship  to  go  in  peace. 

There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  owing 
to  this  affair  and  actions  of  a  similar  nature 

32 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

taken  by  Barry  in  other  cases,  that  a  mutiny 
was  planned  among  the  crew  on  board  ship, 
resulting  from  dissatisfaction  (and  also,  no 
doubt,  to  the  very  irregular  payment  of  wages 
by  the  government,  owing  to  lack  of  funds, 
a  not  unusual  condition  prevailing  throughout 
the  Revolution)  with  these  acts  of  justice  on 
the  part  of  their  commander,  that  cost  the 
crew  so  much  of  their  prize  prospects.  Barry 
assembled  the  crew,  addressed  them  from  the 
quarter-deck,  took  their  word  that  they 
would  thereafter  be  loyal,  and  dismissed 
them  to  their  duty,  putting  only  the  three 
ring -leaders  in  irons.  When  they  reached 
home  these  ringleaders,  instead  of  being 
executed  (owing  to  Barry's  pleas  in  their  be 
half  before  the  court  -  martial  for  clemency) 
were  permitted  to  enlist  in  the  Continental 
forces. 

FIRES    THE    LAST    SHOT    OF    THE     REVOLUTION 

Barry  fought  the  last  battle  and  fired  the 
last  shot  of  the  Revolution,  when,  on  the 
Alliance,  in  March,  1783,  he  left  Havana,  con 
voying  to  our  shores  the  Continental  ship, 
Luzerne,  both  the  ships  carrying  a  large 

33 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

amount  of  gold  on  Continental  account.  He 
encountered  the  Sybille  (followed  by  two 
other  English  war -ships)  which  he  almost 
sank,  and  would  have  done  so  had  not  her 
consorts  hurried  to  her  aid.  That  was  the 
last  shot  fired  in  the  Revolution.  This  was 
the  last  naval  battle  of  the  Revolutionary 
War.  Peace  was  declared  April  n,  1783. 

BARRY    CRUISES    ON    ENGLAND'S    SHORES 

The  "Log  of  the  Alliance"  kept  by  John 
Kessler,  is  one  of  the  most  interesting,  won 
derful,  and  admirably  kept  records  of  any  ship 
that  ever  floated,  and  for  the  purpose  of  this 
review  is  too  long  to  even  outline  the  lists  of 
important  achievements  duly  credited  to  that 
vessel.  Suffice,  then,  to  state  that  it  shows  that 
the  Alliance  under  the  command  of  Capt.  John 
Barry,  who  had  selected  for  his  regular  cruising 
grounds  the  broad  Atlantic  (then  closely  pa 
trolled  by  England's  powerful  sea  force) ,  sailed 
from  as  far  south  as  the  West  Indies  along 
or  in  close  proximity  to  the  regular  chartered 
lanes  or  sailing  routes  to  L' Orient,  France — a 
harbor  and  friendly  port  in  Brittany  and  in 
close  reach  of  the  English  Channel. 

34 


mi 


CD  c/ 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

"LOG  OF  THE  'ALLIANCE'" 

Barry,  with  the  Alliance,  made  frequent 
cruises  in  foreign  waters,  in  each  of  the  years 
of  1781,  1782,  and  1783.  The  record  of  the 
"Log"  shows  that  in  each  and  every  cruise 
he  made,  Barry  never  failed  to  either  "Take, 
destroy,  or  sink  the  enemy's  ships."  Those 
he  captured  in  the  waters  of  or  near  to 
England's  shores  he  generally  carried  into 
friendly  foreign  ports,  and  other  captures 
made  in  the  waters  of  the  broad  Atlantic, 
that  England's  navy  claimed  as  her  own, 
he  either  brought  direct  or  sent  back  un 
der  prize-masters'  orders  to  America.  The 
"Log"  shows  that  Barry  made  many  cap 
tures  of  British  ships  with  valuable  car 
goes  and  carried  them  safely  back  to  home 
ports. 

Notwithstanding  that  these  exploits  are 
recorded  in  the  "Log"  in  a  plain,  terse,  and 
matter-of-fact  way,  with  no  attempt  at  em 
bellishment,  still  it  reads  like  a  story  of  magic. 
Here  we  must  bid  farewell  to  that  grand  old 
ship,  for  the  Alliance  was  shortly  afterward 
sold. 

35 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 


BARRY    MAKES    TRIP    TO    FOREIGN     PORTS 

Barry  became  restless,  and,  observing  the 
hesitancy  on  the  part  of  the  shipping  mer 
chants  to  re-establish  the  foreign  trade  and 
commerce,  he  makes  a  trip  on  personal  ac 
count  to  European  ports  and  to  China;  that 
was  one  of  the  first  trips  that  started  trade 
with  newly  opened  ports,  and,  after  accom 
plishing  his  object,  he  returns  to  Philadelphia. 

BARRY      WANTS      TO      FIGHT      BARBARY      STATE 
PIRATES 

SIR, — Finding  that  the  government  have  partly 
determined  to  fit  out  some  ships  of  war  for  the  pro 
tection  of  our  trade  against  the  Algerians,  I  beg  to 
offer  myself  for  commander  of  the  squadron  con 
ceiving  myself  competent,  thereto  assuring  your 
Excellency  that  should  I  be  honored  with  your 
approbation  my  utmost  abilities  and  most  unremit 
ting  attention  shall  be  exerted  for  the  good  of  my 
country  and  also  to  approve  myself  worthy  of  the 
high  honor  shown  by  your  Excellency,  to  your  obedi 
ent  humble  servant, 

JOHN  BARRY. 
March  10,  1794. 
His  Excellency, 

The  President  of  the  United  States. 
36 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

RATHER   FIGHT   THAN    BUILD    SHIPS 

In  the  American  State  Papers  on  naval 
affairs,  1839,  Vol.  i,  the  following  copy  ap 
pears  of  a  "  Report  of  progress  made  in  build 
ing  the  (six)  frigates  authorized  by  an  act  of 
March  27,  1794." 

PHILADELPHIA,  Dec.  18,  1794. 
To  the  Secretary  of  War: 

SIR, — As  soon  as  the  Appropriation  Act  of  Con 
gress  passed,  27  of  March  last,  we  observed  a  navy 
constructor  was  immediately  employed,  who  has  been 
steadily  at  work,  drawing  the  draughts  and  making 
the  necessary  molds  for  building  on  the  most  eligible 
construction;  all  of  which  are  now  completed  and 
sent  on  to  the  different  yards  where  the  ships  are  to 
be  built.  And  we  appeal  to  all  those  who  have  any 
knowledge  of  the  science  of  naval  architecture,  of  the 
great  precaution  that  was  absolutely  necessary  in 
laying  the  foundation  of  our  infant  navy,  and  the 
time  it  would  consequently  take  to  digest  a  good 
plan,  to  avoid  errors,  and  fix  dimensions,  founded 
on  the  experience  of  all  maritime  Europe,  as  well  as 
that  of  this  country,  so  as  to  have  ships  the  best 
adapted  for  the  service  of  any  that  was  ever  built  of 
the  kind,  which  we  are  of  an  opinion  has  been  happily 
effected,  and  that  arrangements  to  commence  the 
building  of  frigates  has  been  judiciously  made,  and 

37 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

every  pains  taken  to  procure  the  most  durable  wood 
in  the  world — the  live  oak  of  Georgia;  but  the  summer 
season  having  commenced  before  the  appropriation 
was  passed,  at  which  time  it  is  so  very  sickly  in  and 
about  the  islands  of  Georgia,  that  it  was  impossible 
to  procure,  and  would  have  been  both  expensive  and 
useless  to  have  sent  men  thither  to  cut  wood,  if  they 
could  have  been  procured  during  the  summer  months. 
Early  in  October,  however,  a  number  of  wood-cutters, 
that  had  previously  engaged  in  Connecticut,  arrived 
in  Georgia,  commenced  their  operations  and  have 
made  such  progress  that  one  vessel  has  already 
arrived  here  with  a  full  cargo;  the  master  of  which 
reports  favorably  as  to  the  despatch  of  others  that 
have  been  sent  on  by  the  Treasury  Department  for 
to  take  timber  to  different  yards.  The  building  of 
these  frigates  of  live  oak  will  certainly  be  a  great 
saving  to  the  United  States,  as  we  are  well  satisfied 
(accidents  excepted)  that  their  frames  will  be  per 
fectly  sound  half  a  century  hence,  and  it  is  very 
probable  that  they  may  continue  so  for  a  much  longer 
period.1  On  the  contrary,  we  are  fully  convinced, 
from  experience,  that  if  they  be  built  of  the  best  of 
white  oak  of  America,  their  durability  at  the  utmost 
would  not  exceed  one-fourth  of  that  time,  and  the 
expense  of  building  and  equipment  is  the  same 
whether  the  ships  are  of  the  best  or  of  the  worst  wood 
of  this  country;  but  had  it  been  determined,  in  the 

1  Time  has  proven  the  correctness  of  Barry's  judgment.— 
W.  B.  M. 

38 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

first  instance,  to  have  built  the  ships  of  common  oak, 
no  greater  progress  could  have  been  made,  as  there 
was  no  timber  cut  in  any  of  the  States;  and  to  have 
cut  it  in  the  summer  season  when  the  sap  was  up,  and 
build  the  ships  of  wood  in  that  green  state,  they 
would  have  proved  rotten  and  totally  unfit  for  the 
public  service  in  less  than  five  years  from  the  laying 
of  their  keels. 

The  undersigned,  John  Barry,  has  made  a  visit  to 
Georgia,  at  the  request  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  and  is  so  well  satisfied  with  the  exertions 
of  Mr.  Morgan,  who  superintends  the  cutting  and 
shipping  the  timber,  that  he  has  no  doubt  but  the 
whole  quantity  will  be  cut  between  this  and  the  month 
of  February,  and,  if  so,  we  are  all  of  opinion  that  the 
ships  may  be  built  and  completely  equipped  in  the 
course  of  next  year,  as  every  preparation  is  made  in 
the  different  yards,  and  for  procuring  all  the  material 
in  the  various  branches,  for  going  on  with  spirit  and 
despatch. 

It  must  be  remembered  that,  in  the  first  maritime 
countries  in  Europe  where  they  have  regular  estab 
lishments  for  building  ships  of  war,  with  dock-yards 
and  large  stocks  of  timber  thereon,  they  seldom  com 
plete  a  frigate,  of  the  magnitude  of  any  of  ours,  in 
less  than  twelve  months  after  she  is  raised,  contract 
ships,  built  in  the  time  of  war,  to  answer  the  purpose 
of  the  moment,  only  except ed. 

It  would  be  highly  gratifying  to  us,  sir,  who  have 
thrown  aside  our  former  occupation,  and  the  prospects 

39 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

that  promise  fair  for  increasing  our  fortunes,  with  a 
view  of  serving  our  country,  and  who  have  no  desire 
of  being  mere  sinecure  officers,  if  we  could  at  this 
moment  embark  and  obey  the  commands  of  our 
country,  in  going  in  pursuit  of  a  barbarous  enemy  ! 
who  now  holds  in  chains  and  slavery  so  many  of  our 
unfortunate  fellow-citizens,  the  relieving  and  restoring 
of  which  to  the  bosom  of  their  families  and  friends  are, 
with  that  of  having  an  opportunity  to  chastise  their 
cruel  oppressors,  objects  of  our  greatest  ambition, 
and  which  we  anticipate  with  all  the  ardor  of  officers, 
of  seamen,  and  of  citizens.  We,  therefore,  assure  you, 
sir,  that  every  exertion  shall  be  made  by  us  in  our 
department  to  facilitate  the  building  and  equipment 
of  the  ships  to  which  we  have  had  the  honor  to  be 
appointed  commanders  and  superintendents. 
(Signed)  JOHN  BARRY. 

RICHARD  DALE. 

THOMAS  TRUXTON. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  the  six 
frigates  then  being  built  and  referred  to  by 
Barry  in  his  (the  foregoing)  letter  to  the 
Secretary  of  War,  dated  Philadelphia,  De 
cember  1 8,  1794:  the  United  States,  44  guns; 
the  Constitution,  44  guns;  the  President,  44 
guns;  the  Constellation,  38  guns;  the  Chesa 
peake,  38  guns;  the  Congress,  38  guns.  The 

lThe  pirates  of  the  Barbary  States. — W.  B.  M. 
40 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

United  States  was  the  first  ship  that  got  into 
the  water  under  the  present  organization  of 
the  navy.  She  was  launched  at  Philadelphia 
on  July  10,  1797,  the  command  of  which  was 
given  to  Commodore  John  Barry,  who  super 
intended  its  construction. 

Dennie,  in  the  portfolio  (1813),  wrote:  "His 
(Barry's)  opinion  was  very  influential  in  the 
adoption  by  the  government  of  that  excellent 
model  for  ships  of  war,  the  superiority  of 
which  over  every  other  has  been  so  strikingly 
proved,  as  to  have  extorted  the  acknowledg 
ment  even  of  our  enemies." 

In  the  Journals  of  the  Continental  Congress, 
page  1118,  Vol.  12,  1778,  the  following  reso 
lution  regarding  an  expedition  against  the 
province  of  the  east  end  of  Florida  was 
adopted : 

"Resolved,  That  Captain  John  Barry  be 
and  is  hereby  directed  to  take  the  command 
of  all  armed  vessels  employed  on  the  intended 
expedition,  and  that  this  commission  continue 
in  force  till  the  expiration  of  the  invasion  of 
East  Florida  (or  until  further  orders  of  Con 
gress).  That  he  proceed  with  the  utmost 
despatch  to  the  State  of  Maryland  in  order 

41 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

to  expedite  the  galleys  furnished  by  that 
State,  and  proceed  with  them  to  Charleston, 
in  South  Carolina." 

COMMAND  OF  FLEET  IN  DELAWARE  RIVER  AND 

BAY 

The  following  are  abstracts  taken  by  the 
writer  from  some  of  the  letters  written  by  the 
Marine  Committee. 

January  29,  1778. 
To  Captain  John  Barry: 

Sir, — We  have  agreed  to  employ  the  Pinnace  and 
barges  belonging  to  the  Frigates,  and  the  barge  taken 
up  by  Captain  Jonah  in  the  river  Delaware  on  a  cruise 
under  your  command.  We  hereby  empower  you  to 
receive  such  war-like  stores,  provisions,  and  other 
stores  from  the  Navy  Board,  and  to  employ  such 
Continental  naval  officers  not  in  actual  service,  and 
to  collect  such  a  number  of  men  as  you  shall  think 
necessary  for  officering,  victualing,  and  equipping 
said  boats.  We  have  directed  the  Navy  Board  to 
furnish  you  with  every  necessary  for  equipping  your 
little  fleet,  and  money  to  procure  supplies  for  your 
crews  as  occasion  may  require.  You  will  give  imme 
diate  notice  to  General  Washington  of  such  stores 
as  you  may  capture — which  are  necessary  for  the 
use  of  the  army.  We  would  have  you  sink  or  other 
wise  destroy  the  hulls  of  all  such  vessels  as  you  may 

42 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

take,  which  cannot  be  removed  to  a  place  of  safety. 
The  vessels  which  you  take  and  preserve  must  be 
libeled  in  the  Court  of  Admiralty  in  the  State  into 
which  they  are  carried.  You  will  therefore  employ 
some  suitable  attorney  to  libel  for  the  same.  Write 
to  us  frequently  and  particularly  of  your  proceedings. 
Wishing  you  success. 

March  n,  1778. 
To  Captain  John  Barry: 

SIR, — We  have  received  your  letter  of  the  8th 
inst.  and  congratulate  you  on  the  successful  com 
mencement  of  your  expedition  and  hope  it  will  be 
attended  with  similar  advantages  to  the  public  and 
glory  to  the  gallant  commander,  brave  officers  and 
men  concerned  in  it  throughout  the  whole  course. 
The  good  opinion  you  have  of  your  prize  schooner 
has  determined  us  to  purchase  her  for  a  cruiser;  she 
is  to  be  called  the  Wasp. 

We  observe  that  you  have  advised  General  Wash 
ington  of  your  success,  and  expect  that  you  have 
furnished  him  with  inventories  of  what  was  on  board 
your  prizes.  The  prisoners  you  have  taken  and 
shall  take  you  will  deliver  to  the  commander  of  the 
main  army  which  may  be  most  convenient  to 
you. 

We  thank  you  for  the  early  intelligence  of  your 
success — your  well-known  bravery  and  good  conduct 
gives  us  strong  hopes  of  hearing  from  you  often  on 
similar  occasions.  With  best  wishes  for  your  success. 

43 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

March  26,  1778. 
To  Captain  John  Barry: 

SIR, — We  have  received  your  letter  of  the  2oth 
inst.  covering  an  inventory  of  the  goods  lately  cap 
tured.  We  think  with  you  that  the  Bay  (Dela 
ware)  will  be  the  best  for  your  meeting  with  success 
and  hope  you  will  use  your  utmost  diligence  in  getting 
your  small  squadron  down  there.  With  regard  to  the 
prize  goods  you  have  captured,  one-half,  in  our 
opinion,  belongs  to  the  continent.  If  it  had  fully 
appeared  that  the  schooner  Alert  was  a  vessel  of  war 
and  belonged  to  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain  or  was 
duly  commissioned  a  privateer  by  his  Britannic 
majesty  and  you  had  held,  she  would  have  been  solely 
the  property  of  the  captors. 

May  30,  1778. 
To  John  Barry,  Esquire: 

SIR, — We  having  appointed  you  to  command  the 
Continental  frigate  Raleigh,  now  in  Port  of  Boston  in 
Massachusetts  Bay,  you  are  hereby  directed  to  repair 
immediately  to  that  place  and  there  apply  to  the 
Honorable,  the  Commissioners  of  the  Continental 
Navy  Board,  who  will  deliver  up  that  frigate  with  all 
her  appurtenances  to  your  care. 

August  24,  1778. 
Captain  John  Barry,  of  the  frigate  "Raleigh" : 

SIR, — Immediately  upon  receipt  of  these  orders 
you  will  commence  on  a  cruise  in  company  with  the 

44 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

Continental  brig,  Resistance,  Captain  Bourke,  between 
Cape  Henlopen  and  Occracock  on  the  coast  of  North 
Carolina,  with  a  view  to  take  certain  armed  vessels 
fitted  out  by  the  Goodriches  or  any  other  of  the 
enemy's  vessels  that  may  be  investing  that  coast. 
As  both  the  Raleigh  and  the  Resistance  may  soon  be 
wanted  to  answer  the  purpose  of  a  convoy,  you  are  to 
manage  your  cruise,  also,  that  you  may  be  ready  to 
receive  future  orders  of  this  (the  Marine)  Committee. 
For  this  purpose  you  are  once  a  week  to  put  into 
Chesapeake  Bay  and  call  at  the  town  of  Hampton, 
where  you  will  find  such  orders  lodged,  and  you  are 
to  continue  to  cruise  and  call  at  Hampton  in  this 
manner  until  you  receive  our  instructions. 

September  28,  1778, 
Captain  John  Barry: 

SIR, — We  have  received  your  favors  of  the  8th  inst. 
from  Boston  and  are  sorry  to  hear  that  so  many  of  the 
guns  on  board  the  Raleigh  had  burst  in  proving,  but 
we  hope  they  will  be  speedily  replaced  and  that  you 
will  shortly  receive  this  letter  at  Hampton,  agreeable 
to  our  former  instructions  which  you  acknowledge 
having  received. 

As  you  represent  the  Raleigh  to  be  exceeding  foul, 
and  on  that  account  unfit  to  cruise  upon  the  coast, 
we  have  concluded  that  you  had  best  proceed  to 
Portsmouth  in  Virginia,  where  there  is  a  Continental 
shipyard,  and  on  applying  to  our  agents  there,  Messrs. 
Maxwell  and  Loyal  and  Mr.  David  Stoddart,  the 
4  45 


3 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

master-builders  in  the  yard,  they  will  furnish  you 
with  convenience  to  have  her  bottom  cleaned.  Should 
the  frigate  Deane  and  any  other  vessel  be  in  company 
with  you,  you  will  order  them  to  cruise  while  you  are 
careening. 

Nov.  6,  1779. 
Captain  John  Barry: 

SIR, — As  you  have  been  appointed  to  command  a 
new  Continental  ship  l — that  is  now  on  the  stocks  at 
Portsmouth  in  New  Hampshire — you  are  hereby 
directed  to  repair  to  that  place  and  hasten  as  much 
as  may  be  in  your  power  the  completing  of  that  ship 
which  we  are  desirous  to  have  done  with  all  possible 
despatch.  We  have  now  communicated  our  desire 
on  that  head  to  the  Honorable,  the  Navy  Board  at 
Boston,  whom  you  will  please  to  call  in  your  way  and 
receive  such  orders  as  they  may  think  proper  to  give 
you. 

Should  Mr.  Langdon  and  you  agree  that  any  altera 
tion  can  be  made  in  this  ship  that  will  render  her 
more  suitable  than  the  present  design,  you  will  please 
to  communicate  your  plan  and  a  state  of  the  ship 
which  we  will  consider. 

Nov.  20,  1779. 
Captain  John  Barry: 

SIR, — Agreeable  to  your  desire,  we  have  appointed 
Captain  George  Jerry  Osborne  to  command  the 

1  This  ship  was  the  largest  to  be  built,  and  carried  74  guns 
— nearly  double  the  number  of  any  ship  then  building  or 
that  had  heretofore  been  constructed. — W.  B.  M. 

46 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

marines  on  board  your  ship,  but  as  it  will  be  a  con 
siderable  time  before  there  is  occasion  to  raise  his 
men,  we  have  been  so  early  in  his  appointment  on  the 
principle  of  his  being  useful  in  doing  matters  relative 
to  the  ship  until  that  time,  you  will  please  to  observe 
and  employ  him  occasionally  in  such  business  as  you 
may  think  proper. 

The  following  letter  from  the  Marine  Com 
mittee,  the  last  one  here  to  be  recorded,  may 
call  for  a  little  explanation ;  owing  to  the  lack 
of  funds  to  complete  this  new  ship  of  74  guns 
and  the  considerable  time  required  for  its  con 
struction,  Captain  Barry  was  appointed  to  take 
command  of  the  Alliance.  When  this  new 
ship  of  74  guns,  was  completed  at  a  later 
period,  Congress  decided  to  present  it  to  the 
French  King,  and  this  ship  was  sent  to  France. 

Sept.  5,  1780. 
Captain  John  Barry: 

SIR, — The  Board  have  appointed  you  to  command 
of  the  Continental  frigate  Alliance,  now  in  the  port  of 
Boston.  You  are  therefore  directed  to  repair  thither 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  when  you  arrive  apply  to  the 
Honorable,  the  Commissioners  of  the  Navy  Board  of 
that  department,  who  will  give  you  directions  for  your 
conduct  in  fitting  and  preparing  the  Alliance  for  sea 
with  all  possible  despatch. 

47 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

An  account  of  Barry's  achievements  in  this 
vessel  has  already  been  mentioned. 

(From  original  records  at  Washington, 
D.  C.) 

WAR  DEPARTMENT,  June  5,  1794. 
SIR, — The  President  of  the  United  States,  by  and 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  has  ap 
pointed  you  to  be  a  captain  of  one  of  the  ships  to  be 
provided  in  pursuance  of  the  act  to  provide  a  naval 
armament  herein  enclosed. 

It  is  understood  that  the  relative  rank  of  the 
captains  is  to  be  in  the  following  order:  John  Barry, 
Samuel  Nicholson,  Silas  Talbot,  Joshua  Barney, 
Richard  Dale,  Thomas  Truxton.  You  will  inform 
me  as  soon  as  convenient  whether  you  accept  or 
decline  the  appointment.  I  am,  sir,  etc., 

HENRY  KNOX, 

Secretary  of  War. 
To  Captain  Barry. 

Barry's  acceptance  reads: 

STRAWBERRY  HILL,  June  6,  1794. 
SIR, — The  honor  done  me  in  appointing  me  a  com 
mander  in  the  navy  of  the  United  States  is  gratefully 
acknowledged  and  accepted  by 

Your  most  obedient, 

Humble  Serv't, 

The  Hon'ble  Henry  Knox,  JOHN  BARRY. 

Secretary  of  War. 
48 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

It  may  be  well  here  to  state  that  Barry 
had  two  residences — a  town-house  at  186 
Chestnut  Street,  between  Ninth  and  Tenth 
streets,  Philadelphia,  and  a  suburban  home 
at  and  known  as  Strawberry  Hill,  located  on 
the  (then)  outskirts  of  the  city. 

COMMODORE    IN    CHIEF   OF   NAVY 

On  the  organization  of  the  navy  of  the 
United  States  in  1794  Commodore  Barry  was 
appointed  by  President  Washington  the  sen 
ior  officer,  and  was  directed  to  superintend 
the  building  of  the  frigate  United  States,  44 
guns.  On  this  vessel — the  United  States— 
Commodore  Barry  sailed,  accompanied  by  the 
Delaware,  Capt.  Stephen  Decatur,  Sr.,  and 
cruised  for  the  defense  of  American  commerce 
in  the  West  Indies,  where  he  captured  with 
his  own  ship  the  armed  French  privateers, 
Sans  Pareil  and  Jaloux: 

WASHINGTON    HANDS    BARRY    COMMISSION 
NUMBER   ONE 

On  February  22,  1797,  the  last  birthday 
that  Washington  spent  in  the  executive 
chambers,  he  issued  the  commission  marked 

49 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

Number  One,  which  made  John  Barry  the 
commander-in-chief  of  all  the  naval  forces  of 
the  United  States  (to  take  rank  from  the  4th 
day  of  June,  1794),  and  which  Washington 
took  occasion  to  hand  in  person  to  Commodore 
Barry. 

The  gallant  Captain  Nicholson,  then  second 
in  rank  to  Barry,  wrote  him  from  Boston  on 
June  14,  1794:  ''Give  me  leave  to  congratu 
late  you  on  your  honorable  appointment  to 
the  command  of  our  navy.  I  make  no  doubt 
but  it  is  to  your  satisfaction  and  all  who 
wish  well  to  his  country." 

Fenimore  Cooper,  in  his  History  of  the  Navy, 
1839,  says:  "that  Barry's  appointment  met 
with  general  approbation,  nor  did  anything 
ever  occur  to  give  the  government  reason  to 
regret  the  selection." 

FATHER   OF   THE    NAVY 

Dennie,  of  the  Portfolio,  in  1813 — ten  years 
after  Barry's  death — wrote:  " Barry  may 
justly  be  considered  the  Father  of  our  Navy. 
His  eminent  service  during  our  struggle  for 
independence,  the  fidelity  and  ability  with 
which  he  discharged  the  duties  of  the  impor- 

5° 


WASHINGTON    PRESENTING    THE    COMMISSION    AS    SENIOR    CAPTAIN 
AND    COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF    OF    THE     U.    S.    NAVY     TO    JOHN     BARRY 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

tant  stations  which  he  filled,  give  him  lasting 
claim  upon  the  gratitude  of  his  country." 

CAPTURES    MORE    FRENCH    SHIPS 

Toward  the  close  of  1798  and  1799  Barry 
commanded  a  squadron  of  ten  vessels,  and 
took  with  his  own  ship,  the  United  States, 
two  armed  vessels,  the  U Amour  de  la  Patrie 
and  the.  Tartuffe.  He  continued  to  protect 
our  merchantmen  from  depredations  by  the 
French. 

Barry  advised  in  a  letter  a  separation  be 
tween  the  Naval  Department  and  the  War 
Department — for  by  an  act  of  April  26,  1798, 
the  outlines  of  a  plan  and  suggestions  of  Barry 
were  practically  carried  out  and  adopted,  and 
the  organization  which  Barry  suggested  in 
that  letter  led  to  its  original  formation. 

A  number  of  the  officers  and  midshipmen 
who  sailed  with  Commodore  Barry  attained 
considerable  distinction  in  the  service — among 
the  lieutenants,  afterward  commodores,  Rich 
ard  Dale,  Barren,  and  Stewart;  and  among 
the  midshipmen,  Stephen  Decatur,  afterward 
commodore,  and  Richard  Somers,  who  acquired 
much  fame  at  Tripoli ;  also  among  the  former 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

lieutenants  and  midshipmen  were  Jacob  Jones 
and  William  Montgomery  Crane,  both  of 
whom  rose  to  the  rank  of  commodores. 

LETTERS  OF  SECRETARY  OF  NAVY  TO  BARRY 

The  following  are  copies  of  letters  from  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Benj.  Stoddert,  to 
Barry,  then  on  his  ship,  the  United  States,  at 
Newport,  Rhode  Island. 

NAVY  DEPARTMENT,  Oct.  i,  1799. 
SIR, — I  am  honored  with  your  letter  of  the  24th 
ult.,  by  which  I  perceive  that  mine  of  the  2oth  had 
not  then  reached  you.  The  reason  there  assigned  for 
desiring  you  to  continue  at  Newport,  and  not  subject 
the  ship  to  the  delay  which  must  unavoidably  attend 
a  journey  to  Philadelphia,  will,  I  am  sure,  be  satis 
factory  to  yourself.  I  will,  however,  in  addition, 
observe  that  your  distinguished  station  at  the  head 
of  our  navy  attracts  the  attention  of  all  our  officers, 
who  observe  your  proceedings,  and  will  in  some 
measure  form  themselves  by  your  example.  In  my 
last  letter  I  informed  you  that  it  might  still  so  happen 
that  you  might  come  on  without  any  detention  to 
the  ship.  I  then  had  in  view  the  particular  desire  of 
the  President  that  you  should  carry  our  ministers  to 
France,  if  they  go.  He  has  not,  however,  yet  de 
termined  whether  you  are  to  be  thus  employed  or  not ; 
from  present  appearances,  I  think  it  probable  you 

52 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

will  not.  You  will,  however,  wait  and  hold  yourself 
in  readiness  to  proceed  either  to  Europe  or  the  West 
Indies  at  the  shortest  notice.  I  expect  you  may  hear 
your  destination  in  course  of  the  present  week. 
Anchors  were  ordered  from  New  York  and  Boston  on 
the  27th  of  September. 

The  names  of  the  officers  of  the  navy  with  their 
relative  rank  will  be  sent  you  with  my  next  com 
munications. 

(Signed)         BEN  STODDERT. 

To  Capt.  John  Barry, 

Frigate,    "United  States" 
Newport,  R.  I. 


NAVY  DEPARTMENT,  October  16, 

SIR,  —  The  President  having  decided  that  the  United 
States  shall  carry  our  envoys  to  Europe,  you  will  be 
pleased  to  hold  yourself  in  readiness  to  perform  that 
service  by  the  ist  of  November  at  farthest.  Two 
anchors  have  been  ordered,  one  from  New  York  and 
one  from  Boston,  of  which  you  will  take  the  choice, 
and  Messrs.  Gibbs  and  Channing  are  directed  to 
furnish  you  with  cable  which  is  to  be  made  con 
formable  to  your  instruction,  which  you  will  be 
pleased  to  attend  to.  Everything  must  be  ready  to 
sail  on  the  arrival  of  the  Ministers. 

(Signed)         BEN  STODDERT. 

To  Capt.  Barry, 

U.  S.  Frigate,  Newport,  R.  I. 
53 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

The  following,  a  personal  letter  from  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  Commodore  Barry,  is 
here  cited,  not  altogether  to  show  the  confi 
dence  reposed  and  the  evidence  of  the  kindli 
ness  of  Barry's  personality,  than  to  present  the 
touch  of  pathos  in  the  human  side  of  nature 
and  the  unconscious  parental  solicitude  for 
the  boys'  welfare  where  the  dangers  of  naviga 
tion  and  the  ogre  of  grim-visaged  war  presents. 

GEORGETOWN  (B.C.),  24  Nov.,  1800. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  send  at  length  my  son  and  young 
Boyd,  the  widow's  son,  to  go  on  board  the  United 
States.  I  am  afraid  my  boy  is  too  careless  and  too 
thoughtless  ever  to  make  a  good  sailor.  I  am  afraid, 
too,  you  will  be  too  kind  to  him,  and  he  has  already 
been  spoiled  by  too  much  indulgence.  I  hope  you  will 
not  treat  him  too  well,  not  excuse  him  from  any  of 
the  duties  performed  by  other  boys  of  his  age  and 
standing.  I  shall  be  much  obliged  if  you  will  order 
him  to  be  very  attentive  to  learn  navigation  from  the 
chaplain.  Capt.  Dale,  whom  I  expect  to  go  in  the 
same  stage  with  these  boys,  promises  to  tell  them 
what  to  buy  for  bedding  and  stores  at  Philadelphia — 
which  will  save  you  the  trouble.  But,  perhaps,  Dale 
may  not  go  with  them,  and  in  that  case  they  may 
stand  in  need  of  your  directions. 

The  Congress  have  at  last  begun  business';  they 
seem  to  be  better  satisfied  than  was  expected  with 

54 


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COMMISSION.       NUMBER      ONE 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

their  accommodations — but  they  certainly  have  a 
great  deal  to  complain  of.  The  navy  appears  very 
popular  with  them,  and  hope  they  will  form  a  per 
manent  system  for  progressing  with  it  until  we  are 
able  to  rely  on  our  own  strength  for  protection. 

(Signed)         BEN  STODDERT. 
To  Commodore  Barry, 

Philadelphia. 

HEAD  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

When  our  present  navy  was  founded  Barry 
was  selected  as  the  commander-in-chief  by 
President  Washington,  who  well  knew  his 
Revolutionary  services  as  did  his  successor, 
President  Adams,  when  operations  against  the 
French  were  ordered — and  again  Barry  per 
formed  some  notable  exploits  in  the  capture  of 
French  cruisers  and  privateers. 

The  very  first  record-book  of  our  Navy 
Department  has  for  its  initial  entry  that  a 
commission  had  been  delivered  to  Barry  to  make 
seizures  of  French  ravagers  upon  our  country's 
commerce 

ANENT   THE    CAUSE    OF   THE    FRENCH    WAR 

In  the  treaty  formed  by  this  government 
with  France  in  the  course  of  the  Revolutionary 

55 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

War,  it  was  expressly  stipulated  that  in  return 
for  the  aid  about  to  be  given  (which  later  on 
was  so  actively  and  generously  given)  this 
country  would  return  the  compliment  should 
that  country  (France)  engage  in  war  with 
Great  Britain  or  any  other  country.  In  the 
fourth  year  after  this  government  was  estab 
lished  we  declined  to  comply  with  the  terms 
of  our  treaty.  As  a  result,  France  captured 
a  number  of  our  American  ships  and  seized 
their  cargoes  in  order  that  British  commerce 
and  supplies  for  the  British  might  be  cut  off. 
Hence  the  war  with  France.  In  1800,  by 
mutual  agreement,  after  considerable  negotia 
tions,  the  difference  between  the  two  nations 
was  amicably  adjusted. 

JEFFERSON  RETAINS  BARRY  AT  HEAD  OF  THE 

NAVY 

After  the  election  of  1800,  when  President 
Jefferson  proceeded  to  reduce  the  naval  forces, 
nine  captains  only  were  retained ;  of  these  Bar 
ry  was  still  the  senior  officer,  commodore-in- 
chief ,  and  head  of  the  navy,  holding  that  exalted 
position  until  his  death,  September  13,  1803,  in 
his  fifty-ninth  year,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 

56 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

Barry  died  childless,  without  issue  either  by 
his  first  or  second  wife. 

To  give  sanction  to  the  brief  outlines  of 
some  of  the  important  episodes  in  the  naval 
career  of  Commodore  John  Barry  that  we 
hereinbefore  have  mentioned,  I  will  take  the 
liberty  to  here  quote,  in  as  brief  a  way  as  the 
occasion  demands,  from  Dennie's  biographical 
sketch  of  John  Barry  as  it  appeared  in  the 
Portfolio,  July  13,  1813. 

DENNIE'S    BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH    OF   BARRY 

Joseph  Dennie  was  a  contemporary  and 
fellow-citizen  with  Barry ;  he  was  a  journalist 
of  note,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  in  1790;  was 
admitted  to  the  practice  of  law,  but  ulti 
mately  devoted  himself  to  literature.  He  went 
to  Philadelphia  to  become  private  secretary 
to  Thomas  Pickering,  Secretary  of  State.  He 
was  editor  of  the  United  States  Gazette,  became 
editor  of  the  Portfolio  in  Philadelphia  in  1801 
under  the  pen-name  of  " Oliver  Old  School." 
The  following  extracts  are  taken  from  what 
Dennie,  in  1813,  wrote. 

"So  many  of  the  distinguished  naval  men 
of  the  present  day  commenced  their  career 

57 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

under  Commodore  Barry  that  he  may  justly 
be  considered  as  the  father  of  our  navy.  His 
(Barry's)  memory  is  cherished  and  his  char 
acter  duly  appreciated  by  those  who  were 
attached  to  him  by  habits  of  long-tried  friend 
ship,  by  those  who  shared  with  him  the  toils 
of  war,  and  by  those  illustrious  men  who  ac 
quired,  under  his  auspices,  those  habits  of 
discipline  and  that  exactness  of  naval  science 
which,  combined  with  and  directing  their 
dauntless  intrepidity,  have  recently  won  un 
failing  laurels  for  their  country. 

"Commodore  Barry  served  throughout  the 
revolution  with  distinguished  honor  to  him 
self  and  signal  benefit  to  his  country.  Even 
during  the  interval  of  suspension  from  public 
employment,  occasioned  by  chances  of  war,  he 
was  actively  employed  in  annoying  the  com 
merce  of  the  enemy  in  letter  of  marque  vessels. 

11  Having  espoused  the  cause  of  liberty  from 
principle,  he  was  attached  to  it  with  all  the 
glow  of  patriotic  enthusiasm;  nothing  could 
divert  him  from  it  nor  damp  his  ardor. 

"  After  the  termination  of  hostilities  Commo 
dore  Barry  was  retained  in  the  public  service, 
and,  when  it  was  deemed  expedient  to  increase 

5* 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

the  naval  establishment,  he  was  appointed  to 
superintend  the  building  of  the  frigate  United 
States,  in  Philadelphia,  which  was  designed  for 
his  command.  His  opinion  was  very  influen 
tial  in  the  adoption  by  the  government  of  that 
excellent  model  for  ships  of  war,  the  superior 
ity  of  which  over  every  other  has  been  so 
strikingly  proved  as  to  have  extorted  the 
acknowledgments  even  of  our  enemies. 

"He  (Barry)  was  eminently  qualified  for 
important  stations  which  he  filled.  He  pos 
sessed  courage  without  rashness,  a  constancy 
of  spirit  which  could  not  be  subdued,  a  sound 
and  intuitive  judgment,  consummate  skill,  a 
generosity  of  soul  which  tempered  the  sterner 
qualities  of  the  hero,  and  recommended  him 
no  less  attentive  to  the  comfort  and  happiness 
of  those  the  fortune  of  war  threw  into  his 
power  than  he  had  been  ambitious  to  con 
quer  them.  Having  spent  the  greater  part  of 
a  long  life  upon  the  ocean,  he  had  seen  every 
possible  variety  of  service;  he  knew  how  to 
sympathize,  therefore,  with  those  who  were 
subjected  to  his  command;  to  this  it  was 
owing  that,  though  a  rigid  disciplinarian,  he 
always  conciliated  the  attachment  of  his 

59 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

sailors.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  no  per 
son  who  sailed  with  him  as  seaman,  officer, 
or  passenger  has  ever  been  heard  to  speak  of 
him  but  with  the  most  respectful  gratitude, 
and  in  regard  to  his  seamen,  especially,  with 
all  the  extravagance  of  eulogy.  He  never 
found  any  difficulty  in  making  up  a  crew,  and 
desertion  from  his  ship  was  unknown. 

"  In  the  various  relations  of  private  life  he 
was  no  less  unexceptionable.  As  a  citizen  he 
was  exemplary,  as  a  friend  sincere,  as  a  hus 
band  tender  and  affectionate.  The  affability 
and  frankness  of  his  deportment  ingratiated 
him  with  all  who  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  his 
acquaintance;  there  was  a  native  humor  in 
his  character  which  gave  it  a  peculiar  interest. 
His  mansion  was  ever  the  residence  of  hos 
pitality.  Jealous  of  his  own  honor,  he  was 
never  known  to  injure,  designedly,  the  feel 
ings  of  any  one;  and  though  possessed  of  a 
quickness  of  sensibility  to  the  appearance  of 
offence  or  impropriety,  he  never  failed  to 
express  his  regrets  and  make  atonement  for 
injuries  prompted  by  an  excess  of  feeling. 
He  was  just,  charitable,  and  without  disguise. 
As  he  was  educated  in  the  habits  of  religion, 

60 


L 


STATUE    OF    COMMODORE    JOHN     BARRY,    INDEPENDENCE     SQUARE, 
PHILADELPHIA,    PA. 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

so  he  cultivated  them  through  life;  he  en 
forced  a  strict  observance  of  divine  worship 
on  board  his  ship,  and  scrupulously  attended 
to  the  moral  deportment  of  his  crew;  he  had 
himself  experienced  the  comforts  of  religion, 
and  he  died  in  its  faith. 

"After  our  differences  with  France  were 
accommodated,  he  (Barry)  retained  the  com 
mand  of  the  United  States  until  she  laid  up 
in  ordinary,  soon  after  the  introduction  of  Mr. 
Jefferson  to  the  executive  chair. 

"General  Washington  had  the  highest 
opinion  of  Barry's  merits  and  entertained  for 
him  a  sincere  and  lasting  friendship. 

"Commodore  Barry  did  not  survive  the 
termination  of  his  public  services;  though 
naturally  of  a  strong  and  robust  constitution, 
he  had  for  many  years  been  subject  to  an 
asthmatic  affection,  to  which  he  fell  a  victim 
on  the  thirteenth  day  of  September,  1803. 

"Thus  closed  the  life  of  one  of  the  first 
patriots  and  best  of  men.  Commodore  Barry 
was  in  size  above  the  ordinary  stature;  his 
person  was  graceful  and  commanding.  His 
whole  deportment  was  marked  by  dignity 
unmixed  with  ostentation,  and  his  strongly 
5  61 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

marked  countenance  was  expressive  at  once 
of  the  qualities  of  his  mind  and  the  virtues  of 
his  heart. 

"The  incidents  adverted  to  in  this  sketch 
have  been  politely  furnished  me  (Dennie)  by 
two  gentlemen  now  living  who  were  inti 
mately  acquainted  with  Commodore  Barry, 
and  enjoyed  his  friendship  from  a  very  early 
period  in  life;  one  of  whom  sailed  with  him 
during  the  Revolution  as  a  subordinate 
officer." 

Dennie,  in  referring  to  Barry's  exploit  with 
four  row-boats  capturing  the  armed  British 
schooner  and  four  transports  loaded  with 
provisions  and  forage  for  the  enemy's  forces 
(the  details  of  which  we  have  already  men 
tioned),  says:  "General  Washington  always 
spoke  with  great  satisfaction  of  this  enter 
prise.  Indeed,  he  gave  a  public  expression  of 
thanks  to  the  gallant  Commodore  Barry." 

Dennie  further  writes: 

"  Having  made  several  voyages  to  the  West 
Indies  in  letter  of  marque  vessels,  he  was  after 
ward  ordered  to  take  command  of  a  74-gun 
ship  building  in  New  Hampshire.  Congress 
having,  however,  concluded  to  present  her  to 

62 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

the  King  of  France,  the  Commodore  was  ap 
pointed  to  the  command  of  the  frigate  Al 
liance,  36  guns,  then  at  Boston.  In  February, 
1781,  she  sailed  for  L'Orient,  having  on  board 
Colonel  Laurens  and  suite,  on  an  important 
embassy  to  the  French  court.  He  sailed  from 
L'Orient  early  in  1781  on  a  cruise,  and,  having 
taken  many  prizes,  on  the  2gth  of  May  an 
event  occurred  that  deserves  notice.  On  the 
preceding  day  two  sails  were  discovered  on 
the  weather-bow,  standing  for  the  Alliance; 
after  approaching  near  enough  to  be  in  sight 
during  the  night  they  hauled  to  the  wind  and 
stood  on  the  same  course  with  the  Alliance. 
These  vessels  proved  to  be  the  Atalanta  and 
the  Trepassy.  From  daylight  to  3  P.M.  a 
fierce  engagement  ensued.  When  Captain 
Edwards,  of  the  Atalanta,  was  conducted  to 
Commodore  Barry,  who  was  confined  to  his 
cabin  by  a  severe  wound  in  his  shoulder  from 
a  grape-shot,  he  presented  his  sword,  which 
was  immediately  returned  to  him  as  a  testi 
monial  of  the  high  opinion  entertained  for  his 
bravery,  the  Commodore  observing,  at  the 
same  time,  'That  he  richly  merited  it,  and 
that  his  King  ought  to  give  him  a  better  ship.' 

63 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

The  Alliance  had  eleven  killed  and  twenty-one 
wounded — among  the  latter  several  officers; 
her  rigging  and  spars  much  shattered  and 
severely  damaged  in  her  hull.  The  enemy  had 
the  same  number  killed  and  thirty  wounded. 
We  have  been  led  into  the  detail  of  this  vic 
tory,  as  it  was  considered  at  the  time  of  its 
achievement  a  most  brilliant  exploit,  and  as 
an  unequivocal  evidence  of  the  unconquerable 
firmness  and  intrepidity  of  the  victor. 

"  In  the  fall  of  1781  orders  were  received  to 
fit  the  Alliance  for  taking  the  Marquis  de  la 
Fayette  and  Count  de  Noailles  to  France  on 
public  business.  On  the  25th  of  December 
she  sailed  from  Boston  with  them  on  board. 

"The  Alliance  left  L'Orient  in  February, 
1782,  from  which  time  she  continued  cruising 
with  great  success  till  March  of  the  following 
year,  when,  shortly  after  leaving  Havana, 
whither  she  had  been  ordered  to  bring  to  the 
United  States  a  large  quantity  of  specie,  hav 
ing  in  company  the  Continental  ship  Luzerne, 
of  20  guns,  Captain  Green,  three  frigates  were 
discovered  right  ahead,  two  leagues  distance. 
The  American  vessels  were  hove  about;  the 
enemy  gave  chase.  The  Luzerne,  not  sailing 

64 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

as  fast  as  the  Alliance,  Commodore  Barry 
ordered  her  captain  to  throw  her  guns  over 
board.  A  sail  was  then  discovered  on  the 
weather-bow  bearing  down  upon  them:  the 
Alliance  hove  out  a  signal  which  was  answered ; 
she  proved  to  be  a  French  ship  of  50  guns. 
Relying  upon  her  assistance,  the  Commodore 
concluded  to  bring  the  headmost  of  the 
enemy's  ships  to  action;  after  inspiring  his 
crew  by  an  address,  and  going  from  gun  to 
gun  cautioning  his  men  against  too  much 
haste  and  not  to  fire  till  ordered,  he  prepared 
for  action.  The  enemy's  ship  was  of  equal 
size  with  the  Alliance.  A  severe  engagement 
followed;  it  was  very  soon  perceptible  that 
the  Alliance  was  gaining  the  advantage;  most 
of  the  enemy's  guns  were  silenced  and,  after 
an  action  of  fifty  minutes,  the  enemy's  ship 
was  so  severely  damaged  that  she  hoisted  a 
signal  of  distress,  when  her  two  consorts 
joined  her. 

"The  loss  on  board  the  Alliance  was  very 
trifling — three  killed  and  eleven  wounded. 
The  enemy's  loss  was  severe — thirty-seven 
killed  and  fifty  wounded.  The  other  English 
frigates  were  watching  the  movements  of  the 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

French  ship,  the  captain  of  which,  upon  com 
ing  up  with  the  Alliance,  assigned  as  a  reason 
for  keeping  aloof  from  the  action  that  he  was 
apprehensive  the  Alliance  had  been  taken,  and 
that  the  engagement  was  only  a  decoy. 

4'A  respectable  gentleman  of  this  city 
(Philadelphia)  to  whose  politeness  we  (Den- 
nie)  are  indebted  for  important  aid  he  had 
given  us  in  the  preparation  of  this  article, 
was  in  the  Luzerne  at  the  time  of  the  engage 
ment.  He  says,  '  Language  cannot  do  justice 
to  his  (Barry's)  gallantry/ 

"A  gentleman  of  distinguished  naval  repu 
tation,  when  in  the  Mediterranean  with  the 
American  squadron,  was  introduced  to  Capt. 
James  Vashon,  Esq.,  now  vice-admiral  of  the 
red,  the  commander  of  the  British  frigate  en 
gaged  with  the  Alliance.  In  the  course  of  con 
versation  he  made  particular  inquiry  after 
Captain  Barry,  related  the  circumstances  of 
the  action,  and,  with  frankness  of  a  generous 
enemy,  confessed  that  he  had  never  seen  a 
ship  so  ably  fought  as  the  Alliance;  that  he 
had  never  before,  to  use  his  own  words,  *  re 
ceived  such  a  drubbing,  and  that  he  was  in 
debted  to  the  assistance  of  his  consorts.' 

66 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

"  His  public  services  were  not  limited  by  any 
customary  rule  of  professional  duty,  but,  with 
out  regard  to  personal  expense,  danger,  or 
labor,  his  devotion  to  his  country  kept  him 
constantly  engaged  in  disinterested  acts  of 
public  utility." 

Let  it  be  remembered  that  Barry  was  en 
trusted  with  special  and  hazardous  voyages 
and  especially  instructed  "not  to  go  out  of 
his  way  for  a  fight,  but  to  keep  clear  of  all 
vessels  whatever"  when  carrying  our  com 
missioners  and  envoys  to  France,  and  when 
returning  from  foreign  ports  with  valuable 
cargoes  of  money,  arms,  ammunition,  food, 
clothing,  and  supplies  for  Washington's  desti 
tute  soldiers,  which  enabled  the  patriots  to 
prosecute  a  successful  war.  Indeed,  Barry, 
in  a  letter  addressed  to  Richard  Henry  Lee, 
the  president  of  Congress,  calls  attention  to 
these  aforementioned  instructions  "  which  fre 
quently  ensured  severe  blows  and  fewer  cap 
tures  of  prizes." 

Here,  then,  are  some  of  the  important  naval 
episodes  duly  credited  to  that  American 
patriot,  Commodore  John  Barry,  and  in  full 
accord  with  the  facts  of  history.  Fenimore 

67 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

Cooper  wrote:  "Commodore  Barry  as  an 
officer  and  a  man  ranked  very  high.  His  af 
fection  to  his  adopted  country  was  never 
doubted  and  was  put  to  proof,  as  the  British 
government  bid  high  to  detach  him  from  its 
service  during  the  Revolution." 

NOTICES  OF  BARRY'S  DEATH  IN  PUBLIC  PRINT 

The  following  notices  of  Commodore  John 
Barry's  death  are  taken  from  the  news 
papers  published  in  his  city  (Philadelphia). 
In  the  American  (Philadelphia)  Daily  Ad 
vertiser  of  Wednesday,  September  14,  1803, 
is  the  announcement  notice  of  his  fu 
neral. 

"  The  friends  of  the  late  Commodore  Barry 
are  requested  to  attend  his  funeral  this  morn 
ing  at  ten  o'clock  from  his  late  dwelling,  No. 
1 86  Chestnut  Street,  between  Ninth  and 
Tenth  Streets." 

"The  members  of  the  Cincinnati  are  par 
ticularly  requested  to  attend  the  funeral  of 
their  deceased  brother,  Commodore  John 
Barry,  from  his  late  dwelling,  No.  186  Chest 
nut  Street." 

68 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

TRIBUTES    OF    RESPECT   TO    MEMORY   OF    BARRY 

In  the  American  Daily  Advertiser  (Phila 
delphia)  of  September  15,  1803,  the  following 
editorial  appears: 

"  When  the  death  of  this  gallant  officer  was 
announced  the  numerous  ornaments  of  his 
naval  and  domestic  characters  freshened  in 
our  recollection,  and  a  blameless  impulse  was 
felt  to  pay  his  memory  the  homage  of  our 
gratitude  and  sincere  respect ;  a  tribute  which 
the  generous  will  be  proud  to  echo,  and  which 
the  ingenuous  cannot  disapprove. 

"  It  may  be  needless  to  observe  that  Captain 
Barry  espoused  with  ardor  the  cause  of  liberty 
early  in  the  year  1775,  or  to  say  with  what 
constancy  of  attachment  and  boldness  of  en 
terprise  he  supported  her  interest  during  the 
war;  all  who  have  read  the  details  of  that 
glorious  struggle  must  be  familiar  with  the  name 
of  Captain  Barry,  and  view  in  him  a  patriot 
of  true  integrity  and  of  undoubted  bravery. 

1  'His  naval  achievements  would  of  them 
selves  have  reflected  much  honor  on  his 
memory,  but  these  could  not  have  endeared  it 

69 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

to  his  fellow-citizens  had  he  wanted  those 
gentle  and  amiable  virtues  which  embellish 
the  gentleman  and  ennoble  the  soldier.  Na 
ture,  not  less  kind  than  Fortune,  gave  him  a 
heart  which  the  carnage  and  desolation  of  war 
could  not  harden  into  cruelty;  and  the  tenor 
of  his  naval  career  exhibits  a  proof  that  the  art 
of  commanding  does  not  consist  in  super 
cilious  haughtiness,  tyrannous  insult,  and 
wanton  severity. 

"  In  the  pleasing  view  which  his  life  presents 
we  contemplate  a  trait  worthy  of  admiration, 
as  well  for  its  intrinsic  excellence  as  for  its 
rare  emergence  in  bustle  and  distraction  of 
war — a  punctilious  observance  of  the  duties 
of  his  religion.  In  the  scope  of  his  character, 
then,  we  survey  with  pleasure  a  warm  and 
steady  friend,  a  firm  patriot,  a  mild  and 
humane  commander,  a  valiant  soldier,  and  a 
good  Christian,  beloved  by  numerous  friends, 
honored  by  his  compatriots,  and  respected  by 
all  who  knew  him." 

The  following  ode,  "  Lines  on  the  Death  of 
Commodore  Barry,"  by  Michael  Fortune,  ap 
pears  in  the  American  Daily  Advertiser  (Phil 
adelphia)  vSeptember  24,  1803, 

70 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

Columbia's   Friend!    freed  from  this  worldly  coil, 
Now  rests  (so  heav'n  ordains)  from  human  toil: 
A  patriot  firm  thro'   chequer 'd  life  unblam'd, 
A  gallant  Veteran  for  his  prowess  fam'd. 
Beneath  his  Guidance,   Lo!    a  Navy  springs, 
An  infant  Navy  spreads  its  canvas  wings. 
A  rising  Nation's  Weal,  to  shield,  to  save, 
And  guard  her  commerce  on  dang'rous  wave. 
Whoe'er  the  sage,  his  Character  shall  scan! 
Must  trace  those  Virtues  that  exalt  the  man. 
The  bold  achievement  and  heroic  deed, 
To  Honor's  fame  the  laurel'd  Brave  that  lead! 

Long,  for  his  Merits  and  unsully'd  name, 
(Dear  to  his  friends  and  sanctify'd  by  fame) 
His  clay-cold  Relicts  shall  his  country  mourn, 
And  with  her  tears  bedew  his  hallo w'd  Urn. 

Come  cheering  Hope,  celestial  Cherub  come! 
Say,  that  his  Virtues  soar  beyond  the  Tomb; 
Say,  that  with  Mercy,   in  ethereal  Guise, 
His  white-robed  spirit  climbs  yon  op'ning  skies. 

Philadelphia,  Sept.  ig,    1803. 
EPITAPH    FOR   BARRY    BY   DR.    RUSH 

The  eminent  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush,  of  Phila 
delphia,  who  was  contemporary  with  Barry, 
asked  the  privilege  of  writing  the  epitaph  of 
Commodore  John  Barry,  which  was  inscribed 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

upon  the  original  tombstone  placed  over  the 
grave  in  Saint  Mary's  Catholic  churchyard  at 
Philadelphia.  Dr.  Rush  was  active  in  the  pre- 
Revolutionary  movements  and,  as  a  member 
of  the  provincial  conference  of  1776,  moved 
the  resolution  declaring  the  expediency  of  a 
declaration  of  independence — of  which  he  was 
a  signer.  He  was  surgeon  in  the  Pennsylvania 
navy,  1775-76,  and  in  1777  was  appointed 
surgeon-general. 

The  following  is  a  true  copy  of  the  epitaph 
in  full,  from  the  original  manuscript  written 
and  signed  by  Dr.  Rush. 

"  Let  the  patriot,  the  soldier,  and  Christian 
who  visits  these  mansions  of  the  dead,  view 
this  monument  with  respect.  Beneath  it  are 
interred  the  remains  of  John  Barry. 

11  He  was  born  in  the  County  of  Wexford,  in 
Ireland.  But  America  was  the  object  of  his 
patriotism  and  the  theater  of  his  usefulness. 

''In  the  Revolutionary  War,  which  estab 
lished  the  independence  of  the  United  States, 
he  bore  an  early  and  active  part  as  a  captain 
in  their  navy,  and  afterward  became  its 
commander-in-chief. 

"He  fought  often,  and  once  bled  in  the 


COMMODORE     JOHN      BARRY'S      STATUE     IN      FRONT     OF     HISTORIC 
INDEPENDENCE      HALL.      PHILADELPHIA,      PA 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

cause  of  freedom.  His  habits  of  war  did  not 
lessen  his  virtues  as  a  man,  nor  his  piety  as  a 
Christian. 

"He  was  gentle,  kind,  and  just  in  private 
life,  and  was  not  less  beloved  by  his  family  and 
friends  than  by  his  grateful  country.  The 
number  and  objects  of  his  charities  will  be 
known  only  at  the  time  when  his  dust  shall  be 
reanimated  and  when  He  who  sees  in  secret 
shall  reward. 

"  In  full  belief  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel, 
he  peacefully  resigned  his  soul  into  the  arms  of 
his  Redeemer  on  September  13,  1803,  in  the 
59th  year  of  his  age. 

"His  affectionate  widow  hath  caused  this 
marble  to  be  erected  to  perpetuate  his  name, 
after  the  hearts  of  his  fellow-citizens  have 
ceased  to  be  the  living  records  of  his  public 
and  private  virtues." 

As  Dr.  Rush  was  a  fellow  citizen,  a  warm 
personal  friend  of  Barry,  and  a  fellow-patriot 
in  the  cause  of  liberty  and  freedom,  may  I 
venture  the  suggestion  (when  Congress  elects 
to  have  Barry's  remains  removed  to  a  worthy 
and  appropriate  resting  place)  that  the  epitaph 
with  certain  modifications  be  reinscribed  upon 

73 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

one  of  the  marble  slabs  of  a  mausoleum,  befit 
ting  a  resting-place  for  the  remains  of  that  true 
American  patriot,  Commodore  John  Barry — 
the  Father  of  the  American  Navy. 

The  present  modest  tomb  where  lie  the  re 
mains  of  Commodore  Barry,  is  located  in  a 
small  graveyard  which  has  been  abandoned 
as  a  burial  place  and  inaccessible  to  the  pub 
lic  for  more  than  one-half  of  a  century,  and 
presents  a  most  gruesome  and  dilapidated  ap 
pearance  to  the  sight,  and  a  scene  of  desola 
tion  that  is  hardly  describable.  On  account 
of  the  disintegration  and  decay  of  the  marble 
slabs  of  the  old  or  original  tomb,  on  which  the 
Rush  epitaph  was  inscribed,  a  new  tomb  was 
erected  on  the  same  site  by  friends  some 
years  ago;  the  epitaph,  however,  has  been 
replaced  by  another  inscription. 

Incidentally,  it  may  here  be  pertinent  to 
state  that  Abbot,  in  his  History  of  the  United 
States  Blue- Jackets,  tells  us,  "  That  Lord  Howe, 
then  commander-in-chief  of  the  British  forces 
in  America,  offered  the  American  (Barry) 
twenty  thousand  guineas — over  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  in  gold — and  the  command 
of  a  British  frigate  if  he  would  detach  himself 

74 


COMMODORE    JOHN    BARRY 

from  the  American  service,"  and  Barry's  an 
swer  was:  "Not  for  the  value  of  the  English 
navy  and  the  command  of  it  all  could  I  be  se 
duced  from  the  cause  of  my  country." 

My  country,  as  it  was,  indeed,  to  Barry— 
whose  zeal  for  his  country's  welfare  was  as 
unmistakable  as  it  was  unalloyed. 

Sit  tibi  terra  levisl 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


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